At the Edge of Reality
by Lena108
Summary: The Gravi cast is (somehow) transported to a world where kings rule the land and knights and sorcerers roam. When an evil threatens to destroy the world they must all step up and help protect it and (hopefully) find a way home.
1. Prologue: And So it Begins

At the Edge of Reality

By: Lily (Lena) Evans

Summary: The Gravi cast is (somehow) transported to a world where kings rule the land and knights and sorcerers roam. When an evil threatens to destroy the world they must all step up and help protect it and (hopefully) find a way home. Violence. Various couples. Broken hearts. OOC-ness. Yaoi (I bet you weren't expecting that). Just when you thought Eiri couldn't get any more sexy… he gets a sword! Why, you ask? Because it's MY fic and I said so!

Genre: Fantasy/Action/Adventure

A/N: Okay, this comes from watching Gravitation and playing Suikoden consecutively. I apologize in advance. This is a written-in-the-middle-of-the-night fic, so don't complain if it's not too good. I did a lot of research for this fic; I want it to be as accurate as possible.

Prologue: And So it Begins…

Shindou Shuichi burst in the door and tackled his lover to the floor.

"Get off me, baka," Yuki Eiri said, only slightly annoyed.

"But Yuki…" Shuichi whined.

"There's a hole in your shirt," Eiri said. Shuichi looked down and, sure enough, there was a hole that defiantly was not there before. He looked up at Eiri, who was just putting out the cigarette he had used to make the hole. Shuichi's eyes filled with tears.

"Yuki…"

"Shut up, brat," Eiri said, not wanting to deal with the singer's whining. "You caused it yourself." Eiri went back to the couch to lie down. "Baka…" he added.

He did not get a chance to rest, because the singer jumped on top of him, asking about his day, what he did, who he talked to, what he ate, etc. The singer was so wrapped up in asking his lover questions that he did not notice the bright light until it was too late…

Seguchi Tohma was just finishing up some paperwork for a new band he was signing to NG. His best friend, Sakuma Ryuichi, was sitting at the front of the desk, swinging his legs. He was obviously bored.

"When can I go home, To-chan?" the genki singer asked, turning halfway around to look at his friend.

"As soon as we finish recording that new song Noriko wrote," Tohma answered, not looking up from the paragraph he was reading.

"But we're not working," Ryuichi complained. "Nori-chan and me are just sitting around doing nothing." Tohma did not feel like correcting him on his grammar at the moment, because he was trying to decide whether he really wanted to sign the band up for any kind of contract.

WHAP! Tohma looked up as Kumagoro hit him on the head. He rubbed the spot, which was throbbing slightly.

"To-chan!" Ryuichi whined; he was obviously upset that Tohma had not listened to him.

"I am sorry, Ryuichi," Tohma said. "I'm almost finished. After that we can record the song and you can go home, okay?" Ryuichi, seeming satisfied, apologized to Kumagoro and began kicking his legs again.

"Hey," Noriko came into Tohma's office without knocking, which irritated the president. "You said we were going to meet in Studio B an hour ago. Why weren't you there?" She looked slightly angry, which caused her to also look dangerous.

"I have been trying to finish up some paperwork," Tohma informed her. "I'll be there in a second."

"I want to go home," Ryuichi whined again.

"Exactly," Noriko added. "Come on, Tohma. After we record the song, then you can finish up while we go home." Tohma sighed and got up.

The three of them began to head for the door, but they did not get very far, because a bright light swallowed them up as well.

"I told you, he's not coming over tonight," Mika told her brother, irritated.

"Why not?" Tatsuha asked. "I've been waiting forever to see him again. I haven't seen him in so long, I don't think he remembers my name." Mika decided not to point out that Ryuichi did not remember her brother at all, let alone his name. She was too irritated at the moment. Tohma was coming home late, again… She wanted to have some kind of real conversation with a person who had all of their sanity. Tatsuha did not fit either qualification.

"He's—he's not dating anybody, is he?" Tatsuha asked. Mika shook her head, deciding not to tell him that the singer had a hopeless crush on her husband. She did not mind; her marriage to Tohma was not out of love. Sure, they loved each other, but they were more like friends rather than lovers.

"Uh, Mika…" Tatsuha started.

"What is it?" she asked just as the bright light swallowed them up as well.

"Where have you been?" Ayaka asked as Hiro approached her. "I made reservations an hour ago."

"I'm sorry," Hiro said. "Sakano-san would not let us leave until we finished recording our new song correctly. Shuichi kept messing up the lyrics."

"Hm," she said. "Well, all right." He smiled at her. They ordered their food and sat in silence for a while. There was an unexplained tension between them tonight, for reasons Hiro could not explain. After a while he excused himself to go to the bathroom.

There was nobody in the bathroom so Hiro just stood in there, thinking. There had been friction between him and Ayaka recently, but he could not explain why. He then saw a bright light and it swallowed him up. As he disappeared he thought about Ayaka and what she would think when he did not show up again.

"Why exactly do I have to stay?" K asked as Sakano rushed around, putting finished touches on the album. Suguru sat next to him with his head on the manager's shoulder; he was clearly asleep. Sakano had not noticed the sleeping teenager.

"Because," Sakano said. "You're the manager. A manager needs to stay for the completions of the album."

"You're just listening to the recording," K reminded him.

"You need to listen to it too," Sakano said. He pressed the play button and it blared the sound of Bad Luck's new song on the sound system, that's volume happened to be turned up to maximum.

Suguru snapped awake and glared at Sakano, who looked apologetic. The producer turned it down and Suguru put his head on his knees.

"Why do you have to keep the kid here?" K asked.

"If there's a problem I'm sure he can fix it," Sakano said offhandedly. K had just about enough. He pulled his semi-automatic out of his pocket and put it to Sakano's head.

"Just let us go home," K said threateningly.

"S-sure, b-be my guest," Sakano said quickly, his eyes going big. K was sure he was going to have another panic attack.

"I knew you'd see it my way," K said. Then the same bright light came and devoured the three of them as well.

"Well?" Ken asked. "What's going on?"

"He's not answering the phone," Maa said, hanging up.

"Try again," Tachi ordered. "He has to be there. He never leaves the office before midnight."

"Aizawa-san," Maa protested. "I have called him fifteen times. I've gotten the answering machine fifteen times." Tachi shot him a death glare.

"I told you to try again," he said. Maa looked at Ken for support.

"Well," Ken said. "You know what they say. …Sixteenth times the charm…" This piece of advice was not helping.

"Why does he want me to say even if he _does_ answer the phone?" Maa asked Ken, who shrugged. He rolled his eyes and dialed the phone number of the NG president once again. He was about to leave another message when a bright light illuminated the dark room they were in. All three men squinted as they, too, were swallowed up by the bright light, taking them to somewhere unknown.

END PROLOGUE

Well, how was it. It was only the beginning. The ending there sounded a little cheesy, but that's okay. Also, I have no idea what to do with the members of ASK. I am having trouble keeping them in character. Ayaka too, most likely because I hate her. Oh, well… I will figure it out. Also, I am not giving up on my other Gravitation fic, I'm just on a writer's block. NEwho...Review please!

Love always,

Lily


	2. A Warm Welcome

At the Edge of Reality

By: Lily (Lena) Evans

_'I wake in the dark and remember_

_it is the morning when I must start_

_by myself on the journey' W.S. Merwin_

Summary: The Gravi cast is (somehow) transported to a world where kings rule the land and knights and sorcerers roam. When an evil threatens to destroy the world they must all step up and help protect it and (hopefully) find a way home. Violence. Various couples. Broken hearts. OOC-ness. Yaoi (I bet you weren't expecting that). Just when you thought Eiri couldn't get any more sexy… he gets a sword! Why, you ask? Because it's MY fic and I said so!

Genre: Fantasy/Action/Adventure

A/N: Yay! Another chapter! I was having a lot of trouble keeping the characters in character, most likely because they wouldn't act very natural if something like this happened. Anywho, Read and Review!

Chapter 1: A… Warm Welcome

Shuichi opened his eyes and sat up quickly. He was laying in a grass meadow and there was a cow next to him. He yelled and ran a few feet in the other direction. The cow cocked its head and stared at the strange looking boy. It then bent its head and kept eating the grass.

Shuichi looked around. There was definitely no place like this in Japan. Well, maybe there was, but not in Tokyo. He was beginning to panic.

"Yu—YUKIIIIIII!!!!" The singer began running in no particular direction. He fell down when he tripped over something.

"Ow…" Tohma sat up and rubbed his neck, glaring at Shuichi.

"Se—Seguchi-san!" Shuichi felt his eyes go wide. So Tohma was there too.

"Shindou, what are you—" Shuichi's boss cut off and looked around him, taking in the surroundings. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," Shuichi said, trying not to snap at the other man. "I've never seen this place before."

"Do you remember anything?"

"Yeah, I remember a lot of things." Tohma glared at him.

"Don't get smart with me," Tohma snapped. "I mean immediately before this."

"Oh," Shuichi said, trying to stay on Tohma's good side. "Not really. I remember talking to Yuki. I saw a light I thought someone had their headlights on to bright."

"Hm, that sounds about right," Tohma said. "That is about the same as what I experienced."

"Okay," Shuichi said. "Now what?"

"I'm not quite sure," Tohma said. "I have never experienced anything like this, Shindou-san." Shuichi hung his head, holding back the snappy comment he had for his boss.

"Oy, you there!" a voice called out to them. "Git outta the cow's grazin' fields!" They turned around to see a woman holding a pitchfork and running towards them.

"Wait, ma'am, we can explain," Tohma said, holding up his hands.

"Well, git to explainin'," the lady said, stopping but still holding the pitchfork out in front of her.

"We—we are travelers and we're lost," he said. Shuichi did not think the woman would believe this, but she did.

"Y'all are sure dressed funny fer a couple o' travelers," the woman said, putting the pitchfork on the ground. "Where'd y'all come from?"

"Tokyo, Japan," Tohma said. The woman looked confused.

"Don' reckon I've ever heard o' that," she said. "Is that your girlfriend mister?" She looked back and forth from Tohma to Shuichi.

"NO!" both men shouted at her. She looked taken aback. She clearly had not realized that Shuichi was a male.

"All right, all right," she said. "No harm meant. Why're y'all dressed so funny?" Tohma looked over himself and Shuichi and then regarded the woman. She had on a plain, old English peasant dress on. Tohma, on the other hand, was wearing his black suit with the red vest and Shuichi was wearing a pair of shorts and a pink button up with a green undershirt.

"Um," Tohma could not find an answer for that question. "We, uh—"

"We make our own clothes," Shuichi said, Tohma raised an eyebrow. The woman bought it.

"All right, then," she said. "Well, why don' y'all come on over to the inn. I'll fix y'all up with some food. Maybe more comfortable clothes."

"Thank you, ma'am," Tohma said, not really wanting to change his clothes.

"Seguchi-san?" Shuichi asked.

"What is it?" Tohma asked, looking back at the singer.

"I think we have a problem." Tohma agreed wholeheartedly.

(Change Scene) 

Hiro woke up to somebody kicking him in the sides. He tried slapping it away, but it kept coming back to kick him harder.

"Stop that," he snapped. Then he remembered he was in the bathroom. Did he pass out? He snapped up and looked around. No, he definitely was not in the bathroom. "Where am I?"

"How the hell should I know?" Eiri was standing next to him, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

"What did you do?" Hiro asked. "Where are we?"

"I just told you I don't know," Eiri snapped. Hiro sighed and stood up, looking around. They were in a marsh of some kind.

"Where the hell are we?" Hiro asked again. Eiri looked irritated.

"How many times are you going to ask that question?" Eiri asked, walking away.

"Where are you going?" Hiro snapped following the novelist.

"Well, if I don't know where we are," Eiri said. "I can't possibly know where I'm going. However, I am going to try to find some kind of civilization. Is that good enough for you?"

"I'm going with you," Hiro said. "Where's Shuichi?" Eiri sighed and walked away from the guitarist, who followed.

(Change Scene) 

"Mika-san?" Mika's eyes fluttered open; she squinted as sunlight flooded her vision. "Mika-san?" She looked over to see Ryuichi looking very lost and confused.

"Oh, I thought you weren't coming over for dinner," she said, not really taking in that they were not even in her house.

"Um, Mika-san?" Ryuichi asked, still looking confused. "Where are we?"

"I'm not sure, Sakuma-san," she said, shaking her head.

"Where's Kuma-chan?" Ryuichi asked.

"Um…" Mika really had no clue where the stuffed rabbit could be, but she decided that they would find it when they figured out where _they_ were.

"He could be lost, or hurt, or worse!" Ryuichi was suddenly frantic. "And where's To-chan and Nori-chan? They were with Ryuichi earlier."

"Where were you earlier?" Mika asked.

"To-chan's office," Ryuichi answered. "We were going to record Nori-chan's song, but this pretty light came."

"Hm…" Mika put her hand to her chin, trying to think. "Well, we're obviously not in Japan anymore." That seemed a rather cheesy thing to say, but she figured it was true.

"Wh-what?" Ryuichi seemed like he was going to panic. "Kuma-Chan is in Japan! He must be lonely, someone could have kidnapped him!"

"I'm sure Kumagoro is just fine," Mika said, soothingly. "Don't worry. Let's find out where we are." Mika felt a finger tap her on the shoulder. "What is it Ryuichi?" The finger tapped her again. "I said—" She cut off. There was a very strange looking woman behind her with Ryuichi in a headlock.

"M-Mika-san?" Ryuichi asked, his eyes tearing up.

"Ca-can we help you?" Mika asked.

"Who are you?" the woman asked in a mysterious sounding voice. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"Um…" Mika looked at the woman. She was wearing a long black dress. Her nails were about two inches long and her hair was black and flowing down her back.

"Are you going to answer the question?" the woman asked.

"We—" Mika could not find the words. "Could you tell us where we are?"

"Answer my question first," the woman commanded. Ryuichi began to whimper under the woman's arm.

"We're from Japan," Mika said, hoping that would work.

"Jap—what?" the woman looked confused. "I have never heard of such a place."

"Oh, um…" The woman shrugged and let go of Ryuichi, who ran to Mika and hugged her.

"Follow me," she commanded.

"Where are we going?" Mika asked.

"To the village," the woman said as though it were obvious. "Or would you rather stay here?" Mika and Ryuichi shook their heads and followed the strange woman.

(Change Scene) 

"Try to stay calm!" Sakano commanded, obviously having his own form of a panic attack.

"Calm down," K instructed, rolling his eyes. "We're never going to find out where we are if you're going to freak out like that." Sakano sounded like he was hyperventilating. K put the gun his was polishing to the producer's head. "I said calm down." Sakano stopped hyperventilating, in fact, he stopped breathing all together.

"Wh-where's Fujisaki-san?" Sakano asked, obviously thinking the teenager could protect him. K rolled his eyes again.

"I don't know," the manager told him. "We don't even know where _we_ are." Sakano looked like he was going to have another panic attack so K walked away, trying to ignore the uptight producer. He realized, as he neared the gates of the town that it was the only town for miles. "Dammit."

(Change Scene) 

"Where the hell are we?"

"I don't know, let go of me!" Suguru was trying to pry himself loose from Tatsuha's grip. The latter was panicking, which was unusual. Suguru was trying to remain calm, which was difficult when you were being choked.

"Mika!" Tatsuha called. "You can come out now!"

"I really don't think she's here," Suguru told him. Boy, was that a mistake. Tatsuha began panicking even more. "W-wait! I'm sure if we look around a bit we'll find out where we are, okay?" Suguru had never had to be the adult in a situation like this before, but he might as well, even if he was only a few months older than the other teenager.

The two boys walked through the town. The more they wandered the more they felt lost.

"Okay, this isn't working," Suguru stated. Tatsuha glared at him.

"Maybe we should ask for directions?" Tatsuha said.

"To where?" Suguru asked.

"Home?" Tatsuha answered. "Maybe someone will know how to get back to Tokyo."

"This town doesn't look Japanese," Suguru noted.

"So what?" Tatsuha asked.

"Well, maybe you're right. Maybe we can at least find out where we are," Suguru said, taking the lead again, looking for somebody they could ask for directions.

A hand slowly reached up and grabbed Tatsuha by the shoulder. The monk screamed and latched himself onto Suguru's arm. A creepy looking old lady was standing behind them. She looked like she was homeless and she was missing teeth.

"Lost?" she asked.

"N-no," Suguru said, not wanting to ask her for directions.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "I can lead you to the entrance of the town."

"Oh, th-thank you," Suguru said. She smiled a toothless smile and began walking. The two boys followed her, not really sure if they could trust her.

(Change Scene) 

Noriko sighed, feeling irritated. Now she knew why Eiri did not want to marry this girl. Ayaka was complaining about Hiro and how he left her to fend for herself. Then she began complaining about how _Hiro_ was in trouble or how he would feel when he saw that she was gone. Noriko resisted the urge to bang her head against the nearest wall, by picking up her pace to lose the other girl.

"Ukai-san?" Ayaka asked, picking up her pace as well. "Where are we going anyway?"

"I don't know," Noriko answered truthfully. "I don't even know where we are right now."

"Maybe you should ask for directions?" Ayaka suggested. Noriko glared at the other girl.

"All right," Noriko said. "Who do you propose we ask? We're in an alleyway with nobody here."

"There are a few men down that way," Ayaka pointed to where a fire was burning.

"No," Noriko said. "We don't know what they're like. They could mug us, or worse."

"It couldn't hurt," Ayaka said, walking towards the men. Noriko leaned against the wall. If that girl was going to get raped it was her own damn fault and Noriko was not going to help her. As Ayaka neared the men Noriko decided it would be bad if the girl were hurt or something, so she hurried off after her.

(Change Scene) 

"I told you to call Seguchi, not turn on the lights," Tachi said irritated.

"That's what I did," Maa protested.

"Where are we?" Ken asked, looking around. "This doesn't look like anywhere I've ever seen before." The other men regarded their surroundings as well.

"What the hell did you do?" Tachi demanded, his eyes wide.

"I-I don't know," Maa admitted. "I just dialed Seguchi-san's number, like you told me to, and now…" he trailed off, looking around.

They were in a dark alleyway, which was not comforting. There was also nobody around.

"Maybe we should try to find somebody," Ken suggested. Tachi and Maa nodded, but they did not get very far. As soon as Tachi took the lead something hit the wall right in front of his face, making a foot sized dent in it. All three men stood paralyzed. The foot that made the dent was still in front of Tachi's face.

"We don't like outsiders," was all the person said. After that a fist came and hit Tachi in the face, knocking him out. His band members soon met the same fate.

(Change Scene) 

"Seguchi-san…"

"What is it?" Tohma asked, turning to the singer.

"This feels weird," Shuichi said honestly. Tohma sighed.

"They can't supply us with any other clothes, Shindou-san," Tohma told him. "It would be best for us to blend in for the time being. Though, that will be hard as it is," Tohma regarded Shuichi's hair and eyes. "However, we must blend in as much as possible." Shuichi sighed.

"Okay," he said. "But can't they give me longer pants?"

"I suppose it is custom for somebody your size to wear pants that short," Tohma said. "Or she might have assumed you wouldn't mind because of your shorts earlier." Shuichi was having trouble with the breeches the woman had supplied him with. Both men were given breeches (Tohma had gotten long ones). Tohma had a short jerkin, gloves, boots, a girdle, and a cloak. Shuichi felt a little cheated. He had gotten a tunic (at least it was short), a girdle, a cap (that looked like it might have belonged to the shriners), a pair of shoes, and what the woman called 'hose'. Shuichi thought they looked suspiciously like tights. He was considering not wearing them until Tohma forced him to put them on.

"Now," Tohma said to the woman. "Can you tell us where we are?"

"Yer in Daini." Tohma stayed silent for a moment.

"Where?" he asked.

"Oh," the woman said. "You haven' heard about this village before, have you?" Both men shook their heads. "Not many people have."

"Can you tell us what country we're in?" Tohma asked.

"Ainuba," the woman said proudly.

"Come again?" Tohma asked.

"Ainuba," she repeated. "So, you haven' heard o' our village?"

"Lady, we haven't even heard of your country," Shuichi cut in. Tohma put up and hand to silence him.

"I believe there is something wrong," Tohma told her. "Excuse us for one moment." He grabbed Shuichi roughly by the back of his tunic and dragged him into the next room.

"What's wrong?" Shuichi asked.

"I don't think we're in our world anymore, Shindou-san," Tohma said. Shuichi put his hand out cautiously to feel his boss' forehead.

"Um, Seguchi-san," Shuichi started.

"No, I don't believe it either," Tohma said, cutting him off. Shuichi breathed a sigh of relief; at least Tohma was still sane. "But that is what it seems like."

"Well…" Shuichi was hesitant. "There has to be an explanation for it."

"I agree," Tohma said. He looked doubtful, but smiled reassuringly. They went back into the other room with the woman.

"You boys all set now?" she asked.

"For what?" Shuichi asked.

"I'm gonna git y'all to Zecim," she said.

"Where?" Tohma asked.

"It's the capital o' this here country," she said. "Maybe y'all will see someone y'all recognize."

"Possibly," Tohma said. "Why the capital?"

"Well, y'all talk like them there nobles," she said. "All them nobles gather in either Zecim or Trenk."

"Very well," Tohma said.

"Um… what's your name?" Shuichi asked, realizing that they did not know it.

"Oh," she said. "I'm Cory, nice to meetcha. Who're you?"

"Forgive us," Tohma said. "My name is Tohma Seguchi."

"I'm Shuichi Shindou," Shuichi cut in.

"Tohma and Shuichi," she giggled. "Y'all got funny names. Anyway, let's git goin'. Time's a wastin'."

(Change Scene) 

"There doesn't seem to be any humans here," Hiro stated.

"We _are_ in a marsh," Eiri pointed out, growing increasingly irritated with the guitarist.

"Then let's try to get out of here," Hiro suggested.

"That's what I've been trying to do," Eiri told him. "Did you really think I was looking for people in this place?" Hiro glared at him. "Baka."

"Shut up," Hiro snapped. "Fine. Let's get out of here."

(Change Scene) 

"Wow."

"Yes, it's very nice."

"Wow."

"Mm Hm."

"Wow."

"Yes, Ryuichi. I know. It's very nice," Mika hung her head. They had gone with the woman to 'the village'. Mika had half expected it to be covered in moss and run-down. She was wrong. It was beautiful town that just happened to be in the middle of a forest. The houses looked like a professional carpenter had built them.

"It's like magic," Ryuichi said.

"Hm," Mika figured it was not magic, but she agreed that it looked like it.

"Hey, where'd the lady go?" Ryuichi asked. Mika looked around. It was true. The woman who had led them there had completely vanished.

"Where _did_ she go?" Mika asked frowning. She heard Ryuichi whimper behind her. She wheeled around and saw a lot of women crowding around him. They all looked like the woman they met earlier. "Wh-what are you doing to him?" Mika asked. The women laughed, a laugh that sent chills down Mika's spine.

"He's very pretty," one of the women said, running a finger along his neck.

"So?" Mika asked. "What do you want with him?"

"We need humans to boost our magic," another one said. Ryuichi's eyes went big and he began struggling. A woman promptly hit him on the head with a broom, hard enough to knock him out.

"Your what?" Mika asked. "I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly."

"Magic," the woman repeated slowly. "By extracting human blood and using it in our potions we have a higher success rate with spells." Another woman hit her on the head.

"Don't tell her what we do here," she snapped. The other woman looked apologetic.

"Why do you need _Ryuichi_?" Mika asked. "Because, you know, he's not entirely human." She had just thought of that in the line of fire, and supposed it would not work.

"We need him because a human who is young boosts magic higher than one who is older," a tall one said.

"Young?" Mika asked. "He's thirty-one."

"He's young at heart," the first one said. "In his heart he is still a child." Mika was growing irritated.

"Just let him go," Mika said. "We promise not to say anything about your village."

"That's too bad," a different woman said. It was getting difficult to tell them apart.

"Please?" Mika asked, feeling desperate.

"In fact," the first woman said. "Two humans are even better." She snapped her fingers and more women grabbed Mika from behind. She began struggling against the grip they had on her. Then a bright light shone all over making the women shriek.

"You are not permitted to touch them," a voice rang out. Mika's eyes widened, but she felt sleep overcome her. The last thing she saw was another woman making her way towards her, her hand outstretched.

(Change Scene) 

"Why won't anybody talk to us?" Sakano asked desperately.

"Maybe because you keep scaring them away," K said. "Quite a switch, I might add."

"No, they must be afraid of you," Sakano said.

"I think they're afraid that you're going to go into spasms and that they'll get blamed for it," K retorted.

"But you're putting your guns in their faces!" Sakano yelled.

"Yes, but that seems to have no effect," K said, upset. Usually he was able to threaten people and they would do his orders right away, but these people seemed to have no fear of him or his weapons.

"Excuse me, sirs?" a woman behind them asked. "Are you lost?"

"Oh, yes," Sakano said. "Thank you." K decided to test his theory once and for all. He pulled a semi-automatic out of his pocket and put it to her face. Sakano shrieked, but K held him back. The girl cocked her head, looking confused.

"Are you some kind of inventor?" she asked.

"Huh?" Sakano looked confused.

"I have never seen such a contraption," she admitted. "What do you call it?"

"A gun," K said, his patience leaving him. "Now, take me to somebody who can help us. Or else."

"What does it do?" she did not seem to understand his threat.

"It blows people's heads off."

"Oh." The girl suddenly looked afraid. "R-right this way, s-sir." She held a shaky hand out, motioning them to follow her.

"See?" K said, turning to Sakano. "THAT is how you get people to do what you want." Sakano sighed and followed the woman.

(Change Scene) 

"Thanks lady," Tatsuha said. As the old woman finally pointed to a narrow pathway, telling them that it would lead them straight to the entrance of the town.

The teenagers walked about halfway down the alleyway when a group of men jumped out in front of them. The two boys turned around to see another group of men and the old woman.

"Thanks Jonnie," one of the men said. "These two are a catch."

"Huh?" Tatsuha looked confused.

"Oh, wonderful," Suguru snapped, the terror he was feeling not coming out in his voice.

"What are you going to do?" Tatsuha asked. The men weren't listening.

"So, who wants the taller one?" the old lady asked in a deep voice.

"You—You're a man!" Tatsuha yelled.

"So what kid?" the 'old lady' asked. "It was so easy to trick you."

"Dude!" Tatsuha looked disgusted. "That's even weirder than Shuichi dressing up in that orange dress."

"Shut up!" another man snapped. "No one answered Jonnie's question."

"I'll take the short one," Jonnie said, shedding his old lady clothes, revealing what looked like a bandit.

"Great, now we get raped," Suguru said, attempting to hide his fear.

"That's right," Jonnie said. Tatsuha glared.

"I'm not going down without a fight!" he yelled.

"Aren't you supposed to be a monk?" Suguru asked. All of a sudden all of the men looked fearful.

"You—You're a monk?" Jonnie asked, pointing a shaking finger.

"Yeah," Tatsuha said, not noticing that the men were afraid of him. "So what?" Suguru, however, noticed that the men were backing away.

"Yeah," Suguru said. "We both are." This made the men retreat even more.

"What are you—?" Suguru put his hand to Tatsuha's mouth to silence him. The other teenager looked pouty but he complied.

"This guy here's second in command at the monastery," Suguru said, not really knowing what he was talking about. The men then turned on their heels and ran in all different directions.

"What the hell?" Tatsuha asked.

"They must be very religious or very superstitious," Suguru noted. "Come on. If that Jonnie guy was telling the truth, we have a free pathway to the exit."

(Change Scene) 

"I told you not to ask them!" Noriko yelled. "Are they still behind us?"

"Yeah," Ayaka said, panting. She clearly was not used to running so much.

"Where the hell's the actual town?" Noriko asked. She spotted a rundown church, grabbed Ayaka's hand, and threw her inside. There were a lot of places to hide in there. The men ran past after a little while and kept going. Noriko poked her head out and sighed with relief. "That was close."

"I'm sorry," Ayaka said. "I thought maybe I could help."

"Well, I guess it was worth a shot," Noriko admitted. "It doesn't matter now, we're okay."

"Hey, where does this ladder go?" Ayaka asked.

"I'm not following your advice anymore," Noriko snapped. "Since those guys are gone, let's head back in the other direction. Maybe that was the way to the town." She was right; after they turned the corner where the men were sitting they found the town, which seemed to be a bustling metropolis. Only, it looked like one of those towns from the medieval times.

"Where are we?" Ayaka asked. Noriko shrugged.

"Well, hello ladies!" a woman stood behind them, smiling. "Would you like to purchase a melon today?"

"No thank you," Noriko said. "We were hoping that you could tell us where we are."

"Why, you're in Zecim, of course," the woman said.

"Ze-what?" Noriko asked.

"Are you foreign?" the woman asked. "You must be. You're dressed funny and you don't even know where you are. But how did you get past security, I wonder…"

"Well, excuse me," Noriko said, her temper rising. "How far is Japan from here?"

"What?"

"Japan," Noriko repeated slowly.

"Ja…pan? I've never heard of that before," the woman said. "Is that the new nation that broke off from Elihuse?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Noriko snapped.

"Oh, dear," the woman said. "Somebody call a doctor!"

"Why would I need a doctor?" Noriko snapped.

"You don't seem to know any of the great nations of the world," the woman said. "You must have some kind of disease."

"Like amnesia?" Ayaka asked, not helping Noriko very much.

"Yeah," the woman said. "You know what Ainuba and Elihuse are, right?"

"Not a clue," Ayaka said.

"Oh, it must be spreading!" the woman yelled. "Oh no! The disease is spreading!" People began screaming and ran into their houses, leaving Ayaka and Noriko alone on the street.

"Well…" Noriko said. "How's that for a warm welcome?"

END CHAPTER ONE

A/N: Okay, now that we have their situations all sorted out… Will they ever find each other? Will Eiri and Hiro find their way out of the marsh? Will Suguru and Tatsuha find the town gates? Will Sakano and K find out where the hell they are? Who saved Ryuichi and Mika? What happened to ASK? Will Shuichi ever get used to the breeches? Review please!

Love always,

Lily


	3. To Zecim! Wherever the Hell That Is

At the Edge of Reality

By: Lily (Lena) Evans

'I wake in the dark and remember

it is the morning when I must start

by myself on the journey' W.S. Merwin

Summary: The Gravi cast is (somehow) transported to a world where kings rule the land and knights and sorcerers roam. When an evil threatens to destroy the world they must all step up and help protect it and (hopefully) find a way home. Violence. Various couples. Broken hearts. OOC-ness. Yaoi (I bet you weren't expecting that). Just when you thought Eiri couldn't get any more sexy… he gets a sword! Why, you ask? Because it's MY fic and I said so!

Genre: Fantasy/Action/Adventure

A/N: Once again, I was having trouble characterizing them all correctly, specifically ASK. Oh, well, don't hold that against me. Anywho, Read and Review! -

Chapter 2: To Zecim! Wherever the Hell That Is…

"But these are really uncomfortable," Shuichi whined.

"Stop complaining," Tohma commanded. "Once we get to this Zecim we will find you clothes that fit you better." Shuichi began to pout but Tohma ignored him. Cory giggled.

"Y'all are strange folk," she noted. "Where'd you say y'all came from?"

"Japan," Tohma said.

"Yup, that's what I thought," she said. "I ain't never heard o' someplace like that."

"Oh, we should take you sometime," Shuichi said cheerfully.

"Shindou-san…" Tohma sighed. "I'm not sure if we can."

"Why not?" both Shuichi and Cory asked.

"Because we don't if _we_ can even get back to Japan," Tohma said.

"Oh," Shuichi looked sheepish, but quickly got over it and became his cheerful self once again dismissing the fact that Tohma had just told him that they may never get home.

"Ah!" Cory burst out suddenly. "I almost forgot." She reached into the sack she was carrying on her back, pulled out two daggers, and handed them to Tohma and Shuichi. "Those there are fer you."

"Why do we need these?" Shuichi asked, examining the weapon.

"Well, y'all need to defend yerselves from the monsters." Shuichi dropped the knife and Tohma quickly pushed it back into the hilt.

"What was that?" Tohma asked.

"The monsters," she repeated. "There aren't very many strong ones out this way, but once y'all git near Zecim they get tougher. Be best fer y'all to git the hang of it now." Tohma nodded skeptically. Shuichi rushed to pick up the fallen dagger.

"This might be a long trip," Tohma said.

(Change Scene)

"You have got to be kidding me," Eiri snapped.

"No, I have seen that plant before," Hiro said.

"I wasn't talking to you," Eiri said. "We're going around in circles."

"It's not my fault you lack a good sense of direction," Hiro muttered.

"What did you say?" Eiri snapped.

"I said nothing," Hiro lied, walking away. Eiri, deciding that he did not want to put up with the guitarist anymore, headed off in the other direction. Hiro turned around once he realized that Eiri was not following him. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Trying to get rid of you," Eiri told him. "What does it look like?"

"It would probably be best for us to stick together," Hiro said.

"Why?"

"We don't know where we are," Hiro pointed out. "We don't even know what's in here. It will be easier to protect ourselves if we stick together."

"Protect ourselves from what?" Eiri asked.

"That?" Hiro asked, pointing at a bush that was rustling. What ever was in there was coming towards them. Hiro could take no time to take any satisfaction in the fear that was in the author's eyes, for he was terrified himself.

Both men backed away as the thing in the bushes began clearing away some of the brush.

"What's in there?" Eiri asked, trying not to sound scared.

"I don't know," Hiro said. He dug his hands into his pockets, realizing that he had a pocketknife in there. He pulled it out, ready to defend himself.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Eiri asked.

"Defending myself," Hiro stated.

"With a pocketknife?" The author shook his head.

"Have you got a better plan?" Hiro asked. Eiri looked around and spotted a rock near a puddle of water. He grabbed it and chucked it at the bush, making whatever was in there cry out in pain.

"There," Eiri said.

"Okay," Hiro said. "Now you've provoked it." Eiri shrugged, picked up another rock and got ready to throw it again. Just then, what they were afraid of came out of the bush. Eiri lowered his hand. Whatever it was, it was fuzzy and pink.

"_That's_ what you got me to be afraid of?" Eiri asked. "A fuzzy pink… thing?" Hiro lowered his pocketknife.

"Well, there's not harm in being precautious," he said.

"Yeah, right," Eiri said, walking away once again.

"Would you warn me before you do that?" Hiro asked, following the author once again.

(Change Scene)

Mika opened her eyes, finally waking up. She immediately remembered where she was and sat up quickly. She took in her surroundings. She was in what looked like a log cabin. When she did not see Ryuichi she began to panic.

"Don't worry, dear," a voice said as though reading her thoughts. "He is perfectly fine." Mika turned the source of the voice. It was a young woman, though she looked different from the others. Her hair was blond, but it slowly turned red as it ran down her back. Her eyes were bright red, a sight that made Mika involuntarily scoot away.

"Uh, thank you," Mika said.

"Not at all," the woman said. "You are not from this world, are you?"

"Now what's that supposed to mean?" Mika asked, her anger rising.

"Have you heard of Ainuba?"

"…No."

"What about Elihuse?"

"No."

"Then Wherisa, they just had a war there."

"No," Mika said. "I really don't know what you're talking about."

"Exactly," the woman said. "If you belonged to this world, then you would know about everything I just said." Mika frowned a little.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Oh, forgive me," the woman said. "My name is Astra."

"That's an odd name," Mika voiced.

"Possibly," she said. "Your friend has not awoken yet. I shall inform you when he does."

"Why did you save us?" Mika asked as the thought struck her.

"I cannot tell you at this moment," the woman said. "However, I can tell you that you hold some kind of importance to this world. That is all I can say at the moment. Please rest, you are tired."

"How do you know that?" Mika asked.

"I am a seer, my dear," Astra told her. "I can see things."

"Yes, I can see things too," Mika said, her patience wearing thin.

"I mean in my mind's eye," Astra said, not once losing her smile. "Basically, your world would call me a psychic."

"You're psychic?" Mika asked.

"Yes," Astra said. "And worry not, your husband is fine." Mika jumped back.

"Could you not do that?"

(Change Scene)

Sakano was feeling hesitant. He did not trust the woman they were following, she seemed suspicious. He doubted that K would listen to him, so he just went along with it. However, he could not help but feel uneasy when she kept looking back at them and smiling.

"Here you are," she said, ushering them into a room. "The leader will be with you shortly." She walked over to the door and bolted it shut.

"K-san?" Sakano asked. "I really have a bad feeling…"

"Shut up," K told him. At that moment a woman in a black dress came out. She had blond hair and the dress had slits up the sides, making it seem very short.

"All right, that's enough," she said. "Take off the disguises you two."

"What?" Sakano asked. "Are you talking to us?"

"Yes," she said, seemingly irritated. "I don't know how you managed to slip past the guards, but it will not happen again." She snapped her fingers and two other women came up next to them. "Get them their regular clothes. I don't care if they resist. Make them put it back on." Sakano regarded the other women, who were wearing black dresses as well, but they were shorter.

"Is that the normal outfit?" K asked, eyeing the other women.

"…Yes," the leader said, eyeing him with suspicion. K shook his head.

"Sorry, lady," he said, reaching for his gun. "What the hell?" The woman that had led them there was standing in the corner, twirling the gun on her fingers.

"Um…" Sakano was watching the woman's hand, which was very close to the trigger. "Should she be doing that?"

"It doesn't matter," the leader said. "Get them into their clothes, now!" The other women dragged them away and Sakano had the faint feeling that he was going to be forced into a dress.

(Change Scene)

Suguru glared at the other teen, feeling irritated.

"I told you that we shouldn't have listened to that guy," he snapped. "Now we're even more lost than when we started."

"We can't possibly be more lost than that," Tatsuha retorted. "All we have to do is—"

"If you're going to tell me to ask someone for directions, you're dead," Suguru snapped. Tatsuha shut his mouth, trying to think of an alternative solution.

"Well, this part of the town is a little more lively," he said, looking around. "It looks like the people around this part are all rich." Suguru looked around, noticing that Tatsuha was right.

"Why don't we go into this building?" Suguru asked. "Maybe someone in there will help us out." Tatsuha nodded and the two teenagers headed towards the large building.

"Hold it!" someone behind them called. "Who're you two?"

"Um…" Suguru did not want to give out their real names, just in cases somebody decided to stalk them. "A couple of kids out for a midnight stroll…" They turned around to see what looked like a guard for a castle.

"What is this? Halloween?" Tatsuha said quietly, regarding the man.

"A couple of kids like you shouldn't be out wandering the streets alone," he said. Both boys nodded in agreement. "Why don't you head into the mayor's house here and we'll figure out what to do with you." Both boys were slightly hesitant, but accepted the invitation and followed the man into the large building that they were going to enter anyway.

(Change Scene)

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about crowds," Ayaka pointed out, trying to cheer up Noriko.

"We don't need to be avoided," Noriko said, not paying any attention to the girl beside her. "I mean, we don't have a disease, like they think. Even so, amnesia is NOT contagious."

"Well, if we found someone who would talk to us we can find out where we are," Ayaka said. "You know, like an outcast or something…"

"Wait, I have an idea!" Noriko exclaimed. "We should find an outcast or something and see if he will listen to us!" Ayaka rolled her eyes and followed the other woman back towards the alleyway.

(Change Scene)

Tachi groaned and opened his eyes. He noticed he was sitting in a particularly uncomfortable wooden chair. He noticed that Maa and Ken were both unconscious.

"Where the hell am I?" he asked.

"Well, I see you're awake," a girl said, stepping into the light. She was rather short. She was wearing a black dress and had black hair tied up into a lot of braids. There was lace all around her dress and she was wearing a choker. She would have looked very classy if she were not wearing black combat boots.

"Who are you?" Tachi asked.

"That's none of your business," she snapped. "We could always ask you the same question. Where did you come from and how did you find our hideout?"

"Hideout?" he asked. "Listen, we didn't intend to find your 'hideout'. Even so, it's not very good if we were able to find it."

"What was that!" she yelled, looking angry.

"So, tell me," Tachi said, now trying to egg her on. "How tall exactly are you? Three feet tall?"

"Oh, that's it!" she yelled. She looked ready to attack him.

"That is enough, Irene," a man said, grabbing on to her arm.

"But, sir—"

"I said that is enough," he cut her off. "Now, I shall question the hostage."

"Hostage?" Tachi asked, his eyes widening. "Look, I didn't mean to come across your 'hideout' but…"

"Quiet!" the man commanded in a threatening voice. Tachi, however, decided that Tohma was scarier.

"Fine," the girl said, upset. "I'm not done with you." She glared at Tachi and stalked off.

"Forgive her," the man said. "She does not appreciate insults to her personal structure."

"What?" Tachi asked. "Yeah, whatever. Listen, I have no idea where the hell I am, so even if you let me go I could never tell anybody where your 'hideout' is. I don't even know why you're hiding, so why would I?"

"That does not concern us," the man said. "We are going to hold you for ransom."

"Ransom?" Tachi asked. "Look, can't we talk this over?"

"No," the man said stubbornly. "We want our demands met, so what better way than to threaten to kill a hostage?"

"Wh-what?" Tachi felt his heart rate quicken.

"We will not kill you," the man said, making Tachi feel somewhat comforted. "We will torture you until our demands are met."

"I don't think that will do you any good," Tachi told him, trying to convince the man to let at least him go. "You see, we're the most hated people in Japan at the moment."

"Where?"

"Huh?" Tachi felt confused. "Japan. You know, island in the Pacific. Next to China…"

"What are you talking about?" the man asked. "You are in Ainuba. Did Irene hit you too hard?" The man bent over and felt the back of his head.

"I'm perfectly fine," Tachi snapped, shaking his head so the man would leave him alone. "What the hell are _you_ talking about? What the hell is Ainuba?"

"The country you are in," the man said. "I shall have a talk with her. We cannot have captives who do not even remember where they are."

"I tell you, we're in Japan!" Tachi yelled. "Ask those two." He gestured towards Maa and Ken.

"I would, except they are indisposed at the moment," the man said.

"I didn't mean now!" Tachi snapped. "I mean when they wake up. Ask them, they'll tell you…" It took all he had to convince himself that he was not going crazy.

(Change Scene)

"Hey, what's that?" Shuichi asked, pointing in the distance to a place that he, Tohma, and Cory were approaching.

"It's gettin' dark," Cory said. "We need to stop somewheres for the night. That there's another little town called Flemmingale."

"You said that Zecim was south," Tohma noted. "Why are we heading east?"

"Because the only way you can get to Zecim is from the east," Cory told him. "They're very protective because the royal family lives there in Zecim. Them guards don' wanna have to guard more'n one gate, so we all gotta travel all the way east and pass by Sapen."

"What's a Sapen?" Shuichi asked.

"Another town," Cory answered, seemingly used to their questioning by now. "Nobody's ever really been there, though. It's forbidden you see. Anyway, there's a gate right before y'all hit Sapen that'll take us through security. Then we can head on over to Zecim."

"That sounds rather complicated," Tohma said. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Nah," she said, waving it off. "Y'all would get confused if I just gave you a map. It's even more confusin' than just takin' you. Besides, it's not like I'm missin' anythin'. I've always wanted to go to Zecim anyway. There's so many people there, it's like a festival every day!"

"It sounds like a cool place," Shuichi said. "Hey, what's that past the village?"

"Oh, that?" Cory asked, squinting slightly. "That's the Fina Marsh. I don' reckon y'all should go in there. People say it's full o' strange monsters."

"I'll take your word for it," Shuichi said.

"This town, Flemmingale," Tohma said. "What exactly do they specialize in? It seemed like Daini was an expert with livestock."

"Ah, you notice things mighty quickly," Cory said smiling. "Daini is, indeed, the lead producer in livestock and what not. Flemmingale is known for its crops. They make some o' the best produce there is." Tohma nodded and said no more.

It was almost completely dark when they reached the town. It reminded Tohma slightly of Ireland. It looked like a typical farming town with a large field behind it. Cory turned to the two men and cocked her head.

"Why're y'all so tired?" Cory asked.

"I'm not used to traveling this much on foot," Tohma said. Shuichi nodded.

"Oh, all right. I'll get us checked into the inn," Cory said. "Y'all can go look around."

"All right," Shuichi said, seemingly not tired anymore. "Come on, Seguchi-san!" He grabbed Tohma's arm and ran off to explore the town. They walked throughout the town in silence. In truth, the two men had nothing to talk about.

"It really is a nice town," Tohma commented.

"Mm hm," Shuichi agreed, nodding. "Hey, um, Tohma?" Tohma turned to the singer in shock; he had never called him that before.

"Is there something bothering you?" Tohma asked, feeling slightly concerned.

"Do you think we'll ever get back?" he asked. "Will I ever get to see Yuki again?" Tohma looked away, not really sure how to answer that question. To be honest, he had no clue if he or Shuichi would ever get back to Japan. However, he did not want to discourage the singer.

"Sure we will," Tohma said, putting on a fake smile. "Don't worry."

"Right," Shuichi said. He did not really believe him, Tohma could tell, but it was the best he could do.

"Even if we can't get back," Tohma said, this time being honest. "Maybe you will see Eiri again."

"What?"

"Think about it," Tohma said. "Were you with him when you were, uh, transported here?"

"Yeah," Shuichi nodded. "Why?"

"Maybe he's here too," Tohma suggested. "What if he was teleported somewhere else?"

"Why would that happen?" Shuichi asked.

"Well, we were not together when we were transported here," Tohma pointed out. "But we ended up in the same place. Possibly, if Eiri was with you at the time, he's probably here too. Maybe even…" Tohma cut off, thinking about Ryuichi and Noriko.

"Hey, you're right!" Shuichi said, becoming cheerful once again. "Thanks!" He jumped on the president, glomping him where he stood. Tohma, who had never experienced anything like this except from Ryuichi, was taken aback. He patted the singer on the back, not really knowing what to do.

(Change Scene)

"It's about time," Eiri exclaimed.

"Hey, there's a town," Hiro said. "Thank goodness."

"Okay, that's it," Eiri said. "The second we get to that town we're going our separate ways."

"What?" Hiro asked. "I still think that's a bad idea."

"And I think my sanity would last longer with the brat," Eiri said. "I'd rather be by myself."

"How's this," Hiro offered. "Once we talk to somebody and figure out where we are we can decided if we're going to go our separate ways, deal?"

"Fine," Eiri said, feeling cranky. He had run out of cigarettes in the marsh and was feeling very on edge at the moment. He hoped that the town had some kind of drug store where he could pick some up.

As they neared the town it did not look like Eiri would have much luck with cigarettes. It looked like a farming community.

"What the hell is this?" Eiri snapped. "Where the hell are we?"

"It doesn't look like Japan," Hiro pointed out. Eiri glared at the guitarist. They both walked around, trying to figure out where they were going.

"Why don't we go in there?" Eiri suggested. "That looks like an inn."

"What makes you say that?" Hiro asked.

"There's a bed over the sign that says 'inn'," Eiri said. Hiro glared.

"Well, it's not my fault," he said. "I wasn't paying attention."

"That's obvious," Eiri whispered. Hiro glared again and led the way into the inn. Inside a woman was just finishing up ordering a room. She turned around and bumped into Hiro, obviously not expecting him to be there.

"Oh, pardon…me?" she looked both him and Eiri up and down. "Are you two from … uh…Japin?"

"…Japan?" Hiro asked. The woman nodded vigorously. "Yeah, why?"

"Oh, good!" she exclaimed. "I was hopin' to run into someone like you!"

"What do you mean?" Hiro asked.

"I think some o' yer friends are here too," she said.

"What are their names?" Eiri asked.

"Tohma an' Shuichi," she answered.

"Yeah," Hiro said, his mood improving. At least if Shuichi were there he would be able to put up with the author a little more. "Where are they?"

"Outside," she said simply. Hiro bolted out the door. Eiri shook his head and walked out after the guitarist.

Hiro spotted Shuichi from a mile away. He was dressed strangely, but Hiro recognized the pink hair.

"Shu!" he called. Shuichi turned around, it looked like he had been hugging Tohma; Hiro figured that Eiri probably would not appreciate that. Shuichi's eyes went big and rushed to glomp his friend.

"Hiro!" he shrieked ecstatically, hugging his friend. In the mean time, Eiri had come up slowly behind them.

"Well, Eiri, what a pleasant surprise," Tohma said, smiling. Shuichi let go of his best friend and ran to glomp his lover. Eiri stepped a little to the side and Shuichi ran into the back wall of the inn.

"Ow, Yuki!" Shuichi rubbed his nose, tears forming in his eyes.

"Baka," Eiri muttered. The singer was able to get a hold of Eiri, however and began hanging off his arm.

"Seguchi-san," Hiro said, bowing in respect.

"Hello Hiroshi-san," Tohma smiled.

"Do you think you could tell us where we are?" the guitarist asked, straightening up.

"Flemmingale," Tohma answered simply. Hiro stared at him; Eiri stopped trying to shake Shuichi off his arm.

"Where did you say?" Eiri asked.

"It's a town called Flemmingale," Tohma repeated.

"Um… Seguchi-san…" Hiro started. Tohma glared at him.

"Do you think I'm crazy, Hiroshi?" Hiro shook his head, though the look on his face contradicted that action.

"I think you are," Eiri said honestly. "I have never heard of such a town."

"Neither did we until today," Shuichi said. "The people here have never heard of Japan!"

"That's weird," Hiro noted.

"There has to be an explanation for that," Eiri said.

"That's what we thought," Tohma said. "Do either of you remember a bright light before?"

"Yes," Hiro and Eiri answered.

"We think that that is responsible for our being here," Tohma said. Hiro and Eiri regarded him with concern. "I'm not insane."

"We didn't say you are," Hiro told him. "It's just…"

"It sounds crazy," Tohma finished for him. "I know. What other explanation is there?"

"So you're trying to tell me that some kind of magic teleportation device brought us here?" Eiri asked. "That kind of thing only happens in books. Believe me, I know." Tohma shook his head.

"As I said," Tohma told them. "I know it makes us sound like raving lunatics, but there really is no other logical explanation."

"And _that_ is a logical explanation?" Eiri snapped.

"It's the best we've got," Tohma said. "I invite you to think of a better one. Until then, why don't you two come with us to Zecim?"

"Where?" Hiro asked.

"It's the capital city," Shuichi answered.

"How do you know all this?" Hiro asked his friend, feeling concerned for his mental state.

"Cory told us," Shuichi said.

"Cory?" Hiro asked. "You mean the woman at the inn?"

"Yeah," Shuichi nodded. "She's really nice."

"There y'all are," Cory said, right on cue. "I see y'all know each other."

"Yes," Tohma said. "Have you gotten the rooms?"

"Yeah," she said. "Come on. We'll git an early start tomorrow if we git to sleep early on."

"I guess so," Tohma said.

"If yer friends wanna stay they can," she said. "There's enough room." Tohma nodded following her to the inn. They went into a room with about six beds and Cory smiled at the four men.

"All right, g'night y'all," she walked over to a bed and lied down.

"Um, where are our rooms?" Shuichi asked.

"What're y'all talkin' 'bout?" Cory asked. "We all gotta stay in here."

"What?" this came from Tohma. "We have to stay in the same room?"

"…Yeah," Cory said, staring at the four of them. "Don' tell me y'all don' share rooms."

"Those two do," Hiro said, pointing at Shuichi and Eiri. "Normally we all have different rooms."

"That ain't how it works 'round here," Cory said. "Y'all gotta' share. There ain't enough room to be gettin' yer own rooms. Be grateful y'all don' have to share with no strangers." The four men each made their own way to a bed. Shuichi took the one right next to Eiri, who had chosen one in the corner. Tohma took the one across from Eiri while Hiro took the one next to Shuichi and across from Cory.

Sleep overcame them quickly. Well, most of them. Tohma, who had insomnia anyway, had trouble getting to sleep. He kept worrying about Ryuichi and Noriko, wondering what could have become of them. His last thought was of his best friends as he drifted off to sleep.

END CHAPTER TWO

A/N: Wow, okay, so let us assess the damage here. Eiri, Hiro, Shuichi, and Tohma are traveling with Cory to Zecim, where all the town people are avoiding Noriko and Ayaka. Mika and Ryuichi are in the house of a psychic lady—or psycho if you're Mika. Sakano and K are being forced to wear dresses. Tatsuha and Suguru are hopelessly lost in a town where they could be mugged any second and ASK is being held hostage for ransom. Wow, I feel bad for them. If you ask nicely maybe I will get them out of their current situations. But then again, maybe I will make it worse! Mwahahahahaha (cough) hahahahahaha! Review please!

Love always,

Lily


	4. Meeting More Accomplices Along the Way

At the Edge of Reality

By: Lily (Lena) Evans

_'I wake in the dark and remember_

_it__ is the morning when I must start_

_by__ myself on the journey' W.S. Merwin_

Summary: The Gravi cast is (somehow) transported to a world where kings rule the land and knights and sorcerers roam. When an evil threatens to destroy the world they must all step up and help protect it and (hopefully) find a way home. Violence. Various couples. Broken hearts. OOC-ness. Yaoi (I bet you weren't expecting that). Just when you thought Eiri couldn't get any more sexy… he gets a sword! Why, you ask? Because it's MY fic and I said so!

Genre: Fantasy/Action/Adventure

A/N: Okay, another chapter. I've really had this one written for a while, I've just been pretty lazy. Anywho, Read and Review!

* * *

Chapter 3: Meeting More Accomplices Along the Way

Shuichi turned over as he felt a finger poke him in the back. He groaned as he felt it again.

"Five more minutes, Yuki…" he said. The poking, however, did not stop. "Yuki!"

"Wake up, baka," he heard Eiri say, though the voice was not close enough to be poking him. Shuichi's eyes opened and he saw Cory's smiling face.

"It's 'bout time," she said. "We were all 'bout to leave without you." Shuichi smiled apologetically and hopped out of bed. He then saw that Eiri had changed clothes. He was now wearing breeches like Tohma's. He also had on gloves, a girdle, a short jerkin, and boots. Cory, Tohma, and Hiro had already left the room.

"Why don't I get breeches like that?" Shuichi whined.

"Just get up, baka," Eiri said. "We're leaving in fifteen minutes and if you want breakfast you'd better hurry." Eiri left Shuichi by himself in the room.

"…Why didn't anyone wake me up sooner?"

"So let me get this straight," Mika said. She had just woken up and decided to voice what she had been wondering ever since Astra had saved her. "You are a psychic?" Astra nodded to confirm this. "Why did we get sent here? You know, to your world?"

"Because I called upon you," Astra said, smiling.

"You what?"

"I called you here," Astra said. "I used my magic to bring you here."

"So it's _your_ fault?" Mika felt her temper rising. This woman did not help her anger problems.

"Yes," she said. "I was informed that you and your friends are the best warriors in the land." Mika stared.

"We're not warriors," Mika told her. "Tohma runs a record company. Eiri is an author. Ryuichi is a singer! We're not warriors!"

"Oh, dear," Astra said. "I believe I was deceived."

"You think?" Mika asked. "You said you were supposed to be psychic!"

"All of the technology in your world suppresses my powers," she said. "I cannot read any of your thoughts with so many electronics."

"Yet you know what electronics are," Mika said. "Why didn't you read your informant's mind?"

"I can only read what they think and know," she said. "My informant is very trustworthy, though I believe her source was the deceiver."

"Don't you know who the source is?"

"I didn't ask." Mika rolled her eyes and decided to give up. This conversation was giving her a headache.

"Well, hurry up," the woman was growing impatient.

"I'm not coming out," Sakano said.

"Come on," K said. "Get out of there."

"You first!" Sakano felt himself go red even though nobody could see him.

"They're not too bad once you get used to them," the woman said. "You two are new here, aren't you?"

"I don't even know where I am!" Sakano snapped.

"Oh, well," K said.

"Does that mean you're coming out?"

"No." The woman sighed.

"I'll force you out of there," she said.

"No," K said again. "I'm not wearing this."

"Come on, at least show me," the woman said. "If it really is that bad then I won't make you wear it. I'll find something else for you."

"Fine," K said, a response that surprised Sakano.

"If K-san goes first," Sakano said, feeling stubborn.

"Why don't you two go at the same time?" the woman asked. Sakano agreed, as did K. "All right. One… two… three." Sakano stepped out of the changing room, feeling rather foolish. He felt even more so when he realized that K had not changed at all and was taking quite a bit of amusement in watching Sakano. He felt himself blush, the black dress he was wearing did not flatter him in any way, shape, or form.

"Um…" the woman looked a little scared. "Maybe it _would_ be best to see if the boss will allow you to wear pants…"

"So kids, where are your parents," the guard asked, bending down to look at Tatsuha and Suguru.

"We're not _that_ young," Tatsuha snapped.

"We really don't know," Suguru said, trying to speak over the obnoxious boy. "We don't even know where we are."

"Are you in training?" the guard asked. "So many kids get lost during the traveling session…"

"In training for what?" Suguru asked, mildly interested.

"Knighthood, of course," the guard said. "I graduated a year ago, which is why I'm only a guard."

"Knighthood?" Suguru asked, feeling himself panic.

"There aren't any knights in Japan," Tatsuha said needlessly.

"Where?" The guard looked rather confused.

"Never mind," Suguru said. "…This can't be good."

"You're telling me," Tatsuha said. "Is Ryuichi-sama here?"

"I don't know," Suguru snapped, feeling irritated. "Right now, why don't we worry about where _we_ are?"

"Fine, whatever," Tatsuha looked bored, which confused Suguru.

"How can you be calm when we're in a situation like this?" he asked the other teen. "We don't know where we are and you're worried about Sakuma-san!"

"That sounds about right," Tatsuha confirmed. Suguru glared at the other boy and turned back to the knight, who looked dumbfounded.

"How old are you boys anyway?" he asked.

"Sixteen," they both replied.

"Ah, so you're not too young," he said. "Old enough to be knights anyway."

"Actually," Suguru said, not really wanting to join any kind of guards. "We really want to find our way out of here."

"Oh, all right," the guard said. "I'll take you there, but where do you want to go once you get out?" Suguru noticed that he really had not thought that far ahead. He wanted to leave the town, but where would he go?

"I don't know," he said honestly.

"Well, I guess you should probably go to Zecim," the guard said. "Your parents might be there."

"Where?" It was now Suguru's turn to ask questions.

"You can't tell me you don't know where Zecim is!" the knight exclaimed. "You boys sure are strange. You're dressed really odd too."

"Oh, um…"

"We're not from around here," Tatsuha said. Suguru stared. "We came here while traveling."

"Oh, okay," the knight said. "I'll lead you two to the gates. Follow me!" He walked out of the room, leaving Suguru to stare at the other teen.

"Once you think about it we're not from around here," Tatsuha clarified before Suguru had a chance to ask a question.

"You're right," Suguru said. "I think it might be a good idea to keep our mouths shut and ask that knight to do all the talking." Tatsuha nodded. Teenage boys are much smarter than people give them credit for, Suguru thought.

"I think everybody's hiding," Ayaka pointed out. "There's no one around."

"Shut up," Noriko commanded. "We _will_ find somebody who will listen to us."

"All right," Ayaka said, not believing it. Just then, a man and a woman came out of the church that Ayaka and Noriko had hid in earlier. The man had blond hair and his bangs came down into his bright blue eyes. The woman had bright red hair and blue eyes.

"Whoa, where'd you two come from?" the man asked. "What _country_ did you come from?"

"Jap—" Noriko covered Ayaka's mouth so the two people would not run away from them.

"Where?" the man asked.

"Do you think you could help us out a little?" Noriko asked with a smile.

"Of course," the woman said. "Follow us." They followed the two people to a house near the marketplace where all of the commotion started.

"Why is there no one here?" the man asked as they passed through.

"Um…" Noriko decided not to tell them just yet and her hand was still firmly positioned over Ayaka's mouth. When they entered the house the man led them into what seemed like the dining room and motioned for them to sit down. The woman left to make tea.

"So," he said. "What country are you two from?"

"To be honest," Noriko said. "…You can't think we're crazy." That request in itself was rather difficult, but the man nodded. "We're from Japan." The man stared at them for a moment.

"Where did you say?" he asked. "I've never heard of that…"

"No one else has either," Ayaka said, freeing herself from Noriko's grasp. "They all think that we have amnesia."

"Amnesia?" the man asked. Then he laughed. "Oh, boy. I bet you two caused an uproar!"

"What do you mean?" Noriko asked.

"It's a newfound disease," the man answered. "Not many people know what it is. It's only been mentioned in the paper once, and not in detail, so they probably think it's like the plague or something."

"Wait," Noriko commanded. "Amnesia's a new disease?" The man nodded.

"Now, where did you get those strange clothes?"

"Japan," Ayaka answered.

"Oh boy," the man said. "This could turn into a problem."

"You're telling me!" Noriko shrieked. "We have no idea where we are!"

"Zecim," he answered.

"I KNOW!" Noriko yelled. "But I meant that we really don't know how we got here. Neither of us have heard of this city, or even this country."

"Right," the man said. "I think I know how to help you."

"Really?" Noriko asked. "How?"

"We'll take you to Astra," he said. "She'll know what to do."

"Who's Astra?" Ayaka asked.

"She's a seer," he answered. "She can help." Noriko felt skeptical and, by the look on her face, Ayaka did too.

"Here, drink some tea," the woman said, coming into the room with a tray of tea.

"Thank you," Ayaka said. Noriko politely refused.

"I know you probably think I'm crazy," the man said. "But she's never been wrong before. Maybe she can tell you how to get home."

"Maybe," Noriko said, still feeling skeptical. "Well, if we're going to find this Astra, can we know your names?"

"Oh, right, I forgot!" the man said apologetically. "I'm Nash and this is my sister, Rachel."

"Nice to meet you," Noriko said politely. "This is Ayaka and my name is Noriko."

"Those names are rather odd," Rachel said. Noriko shrugged.

"So, you two are welcome to stay here until we are ready to leave," Nash said.

"Why can't we leave now?" Ayaka asked.

"I have to get a vacation approved," Nash said. "I can't just leave or I'll be fired, or worse."

"Like what?" Noriko asked.

"I could be killed," he said.

"They really kill their employees?" Noriko wrinkled her nose.

"I work for the king," Nash explained. "He can do what he wants."

"Um…" Noriko was not used to hearing about kings and such. This was a rather odd place, wherever it was.

"Why don't I take you two shopping?" Rachel offered. "You can't travel around in clothes like that. I doubt any of my clothes will fit you." Rachel was rather tall, so Noriko figured that she was right.

"Okay, thanks," Noriko said. "… a shopping spree in the medieval times… pretty cool…"

Maa and Ken woke up shortly after the man left the room. Tachi glared at them.

"Well, that was a bad time for a nap," he snapped, slightly more moody than usual.

"What happened?" Ken asked, looking around.

"This guy told me we aren't in our world anymore and we're being held for ransom," Tachi explained, looking slightly tense.

"Um…" Maa and Ken glanced at each other, not knowing what to say.

"I'm not crazy," Tachi said, glaring. Maa and Ken kept silent, not wanting to disagree with their deranged leader.

"It's about time you got out of there," Hiro said as Shuichi wandered out of the inn. He also was wearing clothes similar to his and Tohma's.

"Well, now that yer all here let's git movin'," Cory pointed and led the way.

"How long do you think it will take us to get there?" Tohma asked.

"I'd say 'bout five to six days," Cory answered. She turned around to see that all four men looked as though they would faint.

"Are there any showers in the next town?" Tohma asked.

"Y'all shoulda taken one in the lake," Cory said.

"I'm not bathing in a lake," Eiri snapped as he glared at her. He was clearly cranky because of his lack of nicotine.

"Where's the next town?" Tohma asked, trying to relieve the tension.

"It'll take us till nightfall to git there," Cory answered. Eiri growled, even more irritated than before.

"Come one Yuki!" Shuichi said, hanging off his lover's arm. "It's like an adventure."

"It _is_ an adventure, baka," Eiri snapped.

"If y'all will stop all that there arguin' and git to movin' we _might_ make it to Rone _before_ nightfall," Cory said, her patience waning as well.

"Just try to relax," Hiro said calmly. "Since we are obviously stuck together for a week, why don't we try to get along?"

"That sounds like a good idea, Hiroshi," Tohma concurred.

"Yeah, come on Yuki!" Shuichi smiled cutely. Eiri growled again, but stopped trying to shake off Shuichi.

"This is going to be a long trip," Hiro whispered to Tohma, who agreed.

"Mika-san?" Ryuichi mumbled. Mika stepped closer to the bed he was lying on. "Where are we?"

"In a woman's house," Mika answered vaguely.

"Whose house?" Ryuichi asked, looking as though he were trying to clutch onto something, most likely Kumagoro.

"Her name is Astra," Mika told him. Ryuichi cocked his head.

"That's a funny name," he said, giggling rather childishly.

"I know," Mika smiled.

"Where's To-Chan?" Ryuichi asked. Mika frowned at the thought of her husband.

"I don't know," she admitted. "But I was told that he's okay."

"That's good," Ryuichi said. "What about Nori-chan and Shu-chan?"

"I don't know," she repeated.

"K-san?"

"I only know that Tohma's okay," she told him. "Don't worry, I'm sure they're fine." Ryuichi nodded, looking a little helpless. It was rather cute.

"Oh good, you are up." Ryuichi jumped as Astra came into the room. "I can explain things now."

"Who's the lady?" Ryuichi asked.

"This is Astra," Mika told him. Ryuichi nodded and smiled.

"I'm Ryuichi, na no da!" Astra smiled.

"I know," she said. "I know all about you two." Ryuichi looked slightly afraid of this information.

"Don't be afraid," Mika told him. "She's a psychic."

"A psycho?" Ryuichi looked even more scared.

"No, a psychic," Mika laughed. "She can read minds and see the future and stuff."

"Oh," Ryuichi smiled again. "Okay, where's Kuma-chan?"

"Kumagoro is just fine," she told him. "He is back at your house in Japan."

"Okay," Ryuichi said. "Is he being a good boy?" Astra nodded, smiling.

"Now, I cannot divulge all secrets here," she said. "For even I do not know the full outcome."

"Yeah, what's going on?" Mika asked. "Why did you bring us here?"

"There will be a war soon," she answered. Mika and Ryuichi stared at her. "You, along with your friends, must fight in this war."

"Excuse me?" Mika asked.

"Ryu-chan doesn't like fighting, na no da!" Ryuichi sniffled.

"What do you mean we have to fight?"

"It's mean!"

"We're not warriors, lady!"

"All the violence… it's mean!"

"We can't fight, we've never done this before!"

"We could hurt people!"

"Silence," Astra spoke softly, but the two of them became silent almost immediately. "It was my error to bring you here. However, you cannot go home until this war has been fought."

"Then why not let someone else fight it?" Mika asked. "We don't have to fight."

"It has already begun," she answered. "Some of your friends are already destined to be involved."

"Like who?" Mika wondered. Ryuichi grabbed a pillow and began chewing on the corner. He noticed that it was not the same as Kumagoro and tossed it aside.

"Your husband, for one."

"Tohma?" Mika asked, holding back laughter. Tohma? No way.

"Yes," Astra answered. "Also, your brothers, both of them."

"Tatsuha and Eiri?" Mika was getting more confused by the minute. "So, who doesn't necessarily fight?"

"Let me think for a moment," Astra said, closing her eyes. "Mr. K and Mr. Sakano. They have yet to be involved in any immediate action causing the war."

"Is that it?" Ryuichi asked.

"Except you two," Astra concluded. "It is your fate."

"No," Mika protested. "No way. I do not fight like this." Astra shook her head, dismissing this.

"How do _you_ people here fight?" Ryuichi asked Astra.

"With swords of course," Astra told them. Mika shook her head and Ryuichi whimpered.

"You have got to be kidding me," Mika said. "We can't fight in this war!"

"You shall learn," Astra said. "Now, rest."

"We've just finished resting!" Mika protested.

"Rest again," Astra said. With that she left. Mika was beginning to wonder if she just used that excuse to leave the room.

"It really didn't look that bad."

"I told you not to talk to me," Sakano snapped. He was still angry with the manager for letting him make a fool of himself.

"I told you it wasn't that bad," K said.

"Yeah, you weren't the one wearing a dress," Sakano protested. The woman had taken pity on them however and they were now wearing leather pants, high-heeled boots, and a black tank top.

"Well, now we both look like idiots," K said, shrugging.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Is it not?" K asked, glaring at the producer. Sakano whimpered and moved away. Even without his guns K was still very scary. They were sitting on a bench, awaiting their orders from 'the master'.

"Hey, shut up, you two," the woman who gave them clothes snapped. "The master will be here soon, can't you be quiet for two minutes?" K glared and Sakano figured that if he had his guns at the moment, the woman would no longer be among the living.

A man then walked through the door. He was very creepy looking. He had slicked back black hair and dark eyes. He was wearing all black, including a cape. He eyed K and Sakano with suspicion.

"What the hell is this?" he snapped at the woman.

"These two need something to do," she answered.

"They aren't women!"

"But sir—" K looked disgusted and Sakano nearly fell out his chair. She thought they were women?

"Do these two look anything like any of you here?" he asked icily.

"N-no…" she admitted. "Except the blond one, he—"

"Silence!" he snapped. "I will not tolerate men among this village."

"You're one yourself," K said before Sakano could stop him.

"Silence!" he snapped again. K glared, but was quiet. "I will not tolerate them here."

"How could they have gotten in here?" the woman asked.

"I don't know," he snapped. "You have guards at the gate, do you not?"

"Yes, we do," she admitted. "I'm just—"

"You need to learn some discipline," the man said, leaving the woman cowering in fear.

"Hey!" K shouted. "You can't—"

"Do not tell me what I can and cannot do," the man snapped back at him. "Dispose of them!"

"How?" the woman dared to ask.

"Kill them," the man said. "I don't care how you do it, but get it done." With that he stormed off.

"K—kill us?" Sakano felt his nerves leaving him and a panic attack was coming on.

"Here we go…" K said, sighing.

"I'm very sorry," the woman said. "I had no idea. I've lived here my entire life and I've never seen another man besides the master."

"You're going to kill us?" K asked, in a voice too calm for Sakano's liking.

"How can you be so calm?" he shrieked at the manager. K scowled.

"Don't worry," the woman said. "If you help me out, I can get you two out of here."

"How do you plan to do that?" K asked.

"I can pass you off for somebody the master wants here," she said.

"What do you want?" K asked.

"I want you to help me get out of here," she said.

"All right," K said, before Sakano could say anything. "What's your plan?"

"Thanks a lot," Tatsuha said to the knight. "We've been looking around forever for someone to help us."

"Well, this isn't really the town where you can just ask anybody for help," the knight said. "There's a lot of dangerous folk around."

"Like those people we met earlier," Suguru recalled.

"Hm?" the knight looked puzzled. "Who'd you meet?"

"Some guy named Jonnie and his gang of losers," Tatsuha shrugged.

"If you don't recall," Suguru said, trying to refresh the other teen's memory. "We were only able to get away when they found out that you were a monk." The knight stopped.

"You're a monk?" he asked, looking Tatsuha up and down.

"Yeah," Tatsuha cocked an eyebrow. "So?"

"Well, no wonder you two got off so easily," he laughed. "Most people around here are really religious."

"Though that doesn't stop them from raping teenage boys?" Suguru asked bitterly.

"Go figure," the knight said. "They believe that you should not hurt anybody who works for the church. However, they'll do anything for money."

"I see," Suguru wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"That's sick," Tatsuha voiced Suguru's thoughts.

"Yeah," the knight agreed. "It is. I'll bet they had intentions of raping you and then selling you into prostitution."

"What the hell?" Suguru suddenly felt rather sick, Tatsuha, on the other hand, looked kind of interested. Suguru rolled his eyes, remembering Shuichi's description of exactly how horny the other teen was.

"Yeah," the knight said. "It would have been pretty bad. I don't know about any of the other countries, but here prostitution is pretty looked down upon. Though I don't see how the church can condemn prostitutes when they, themselves, are swindling people out of their money."

"We got pretty lucky," Suguru said.

"If you hadn't mentioned I was a monk then we'd probably be…"

"I really don't want to hear it," Suguru cut off the other teen. Tatsuha shrugged.

"There it is," the knight said, pointing. There were two other guards at the gate. They were just standing there, not moving.

"What's wrong with them?" Tatsuha asked, waving a hand in front of one of their faces.

"They've been on guard duty for a really long time," the knight said. "I guess no one's relieved them yet…"

"Okay," Tatsuha said. "So, where are we going?"

"Zecim," the knight replied. "Do you boys know your way?" The silence was all the knight needed. "All right, then. If you give me a few more minutes I'll change and then I'll take you there."

"Okay, thanks," Suguru smiled. The knight hurried off.

"He just expects us to wait here?" Tatsuha asked.

"We don't know where we're going, so we might need him," Suguru pointed out.

"This is so weird," Tatsuha voiced. "What the hell's Zecim anyway?"

"It's a town," Suguru shrugged. "That's all we've been told so far. I guess if we get in trouble we can always use your monk excuse again."

"Sure," Tatsuha agreed. "If it'll get us out of trouble."

"Okay, ready to go?" the knight was standing behind them, but devoid of his armor. He had red hair and brown eyes. He was wearing brown pants, boots and a jerkin.

"Why are you dressed so funny?" Tatsuha asked.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" the knight slapped his forehead. "You two can't travel around dressed like that."

"Why not?" Tatsuha asked.

"That's probably what got you into trouble in the first place," the knight said. "Your clothes are so exotic looking. People are attracted to that."

"Oh, okay," Suguru nodded. "So what do we do?"

"Hm…" the knight looked them up and down. "Okay, we'll go and get you some clothes."

"I don't have any money," Suguru said, glancing at Tatsuha to see if his situation was the same.

"Neither do I," Tatsuha said, confirming Suguru's suspicions.

"No problem," the knight said. "My treat."

"Thanks buddy," Tatsuha said. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Oh, that's right," he said. "I'm Ken. What about you two?"

"Tatsuha."

"Suguru." Ken sniggered a little after hearing their names.

"Boy, you two sure are odd…"

Noriko was surprised at how many people came back into the center courtyard in such a short amount of time. It was bustling with life once again and nobody seemed to remember them. They had entered a clothing store for women, but none of the articles of clothing looked like they would be worn in modern day Japan.

"These are very nice," Ayaka said, looking at a rack of dresses.

"Yes," Rachel said. "Those are made from the finest silk that comes all the way from Khiisi."

"Really?" Ayaka asked, not really knowing what she was talking about.

"Khiisi is very far north," Rachel said, noticing Ayaka's confusion. "It took a lot of money to bring the dresses here, so it will take a lot of money to buy them. A lot of money that we do not have."

"But you looked like you were pretty rich," Ayaka protested. Noriko groaned, but Rachel took it in good humor and laughed.

"Oh, we are of the middle class," Rachel said. "These dresses are reserved for nobles. Nobles like the king and queen and their friends."

"Oh, all right," Ayaka said, finally getting the hint that Rachel did not want to buy the expensive clothes for her.

"What about these?" Noriko asked, showing her a dress that looked like a regular peasant dress.

"We're going to be traveling," Rachel said. "You're going to need traveling clothes, not a casual dress."

"Well, where's the sporting goods section then?" Noriko asked.

"You're really funny," Rachel said, taking Noriko's comment to be a joke. Noriko glanced at Ayaka, who shrugged.

"Okay, where are the traveling clothes?" Noriko asked. Rachel began to walk to the back of the store, but stopped when she heard a commotion outside.

"Oh dear," she said. "Come on, we have to go."

"Where?" Noriko asked as Rachel grabbed her hand to drag her outside.

"The king and his son are making their rounds," she said. "We have to be outside just in case they want to come in this store."

"Oh, right," Noriko said, feeling rather silly. She had never let anybody come before her before.

The king was old looking, with a beard and moustache. His son, however, was what Noriko would consider a hunk. He had dark hair and dark eyes. He wore a black cape and all black clothes. If he were not so good looking, Noriko would have thought him to be a little creepy.

"That's king Gustav," Rachel whispered, trying not to be heard by anybody but Noriko and Ayaka. "That is his son, Prince Malvolio."

"A prince, eh?" Noriko smiled, but then remembered her husband back home, which brought a strange knot to her stomach. What was he thinking by now? She had been gone for a whole day and without calling!

"Oh, they have Lord Ridley with them," Rachel noted.

"Who?" Ayaka asked.

"Lord Ridley," Rachel said. "The man next to Prince Malvolio. He's the royal advisor."

"Oh, who's the guy next to the king?" Ayaka asked.

"That's Lord Ignatius," Rachel said, craning her neck to see. "He's captain of the knights. He has saved this country on many occasions. He's a revered hero around here."

"Pretty cool," Noriko said.

"Oh, there's Sir Brandon and Sir Chad," Rachel said.

"And who are they?" Noriko asked, wishing that Rachel would just tell them who they were and get it over with.

"They are some of the best knights to ever serve under Lord Ignatius," Rachel told them. "They're both really cool."

"Chad's really girly looking," Noriko said.

"That's what a lot of people say," Rachel said. "But he's a great knight."

"Hey, who's—" Rachel covered Ayaka's mouth. The king's carriage had stopped right in front of where they were. The prince snapped and whispered something Ignatius' ear. He looked reluctant, but called for Chad and Brandon. He pointed to where the three of them were standing and the two knights walked over to them.

"Who are these two?" Brandon asked Rachel, indicating Noriko and Ayaka.

"They are from a different country," Rachel said truthfully.

"Is that why they are dressed so exotically?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Noriko was finally able to get a good look at him. He had blond hair and chocolate brown eyes. He was good looking, which surprised her. Noriko was expecting someone old and ugly.

"Yes," Rachel said.

"Hm," Chad looked skeptical. "Which country?"

"Um…" Rachel glanced at them, as if trying to decide whether or not to tell the truth. "Serete."

"Very well," Chad said. He was, indeed, very feminine looking. He had blond hair as well, but his eyes were blue. He would have made a very nice cross dresser. "The girl over there, she will come with us." He was motioning toward Ayaka.

"Her?" Rachel and Noriko both asked.

"Yes, her," Chad said, glaring at Noriko. She raised her eyebrows, which he ignored. He had his hand outstretched, waiting for Ayaka to take it. She glanced at Noriko and Rachel once and accepted it.

Chad helped her onto the carriage into the back behind the king and prince. They rode off, leaving Noriko and Rachel staring after them.

"Hm…" Noriko said. "Well, at least now you don't have to buy as many clothes…"

END CHAPTER THREE

A/N: Hm, this is slightly longer. It took me forever to write, though. So now that practically everybody's heading to Zecim, will they meet up in the large city, or along the way? Will they ever get back home? Will we ever get to the main plot of this story? Review and you will find out! BTW, the knight Ken has nothing to do with Ken, the member of ASK, I just realized that they had the same name at the last second and I'm too lazy to change it.

Oh, Lily has a question! Anyone know what PWP stands for? It's been bothering me for a while... ::cough:: Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed that. Review please!

Love always,

Lily


	5. This is Just Way Too Weird…

At the Edge of Reality

By: Lily (Lena) Evans

'_I wake in the dark and remember_

_it is the morning when I must start_

_by myself on the journey' W.S. Merwin_

Summary: The Gravi cast is (somehow) transported to a world where kings rule the land and knights and sorcerers roam. When an evil threatens to destroy the world they must all step up and help protect it and (hopefully) find a way home. Violence. Lime. Various couples. Broken hearts. OOC-ness. Yaoi (I bet you weren't expecting that). Just when you thought Eiri couldn't get any more sexy… he gets a sword! Why, you ask? Because it's MY fic and I said so! Rating has gone up due to a certain sexy scene later in the chapter.

Genre: Fantasy/Action/Adventure

A/N: All right, we left our…ahem… heroes in various places. Shuichi, Tohma, Eiri, Hiro, and Cory are heading to Zecim, with determination on their faces. Ryuichi and Mika are in the house of a seer. K and Sakano go through with the woman's plan, with no other help near. Suguru and Tatsuha find their new clothes to be strange. Ayaka was taken into custody of the royal family while Noriko buys clothes into which she can change. And what the hell happened to ASK? Their kidnappers have them, who we will soon unmask. Anywho, Read and Review! (Sorry, couldn't resist, my crappy poetry sense kicked in.)

RATING HAS GONE UP! LIME ALERT!

* * *

Chapter 4: This is Just Way Too Weird…

"How many of us do you think got themselves stuck here?" Hiro asked, looking over at Tohma. The president shrugged.

"I really don't know, Hiroshi," he answered. "I have my guesses though."

"Like what?" Shuichi asked.

"I am assuming Ryuichi and Noriko, because they were with me when I was pulled in," he told them.

"Then that means Ayaka is here too," Hiro said.

"Why?" Shuichi asked teasingly.

"We had a date," Hiro told him. "I was there. So if people we were with came into this world, she came with me."

"But that doesn't mean those are the only people," Eiri pointed out, though not really wanting to take part in the conversation.

"You're right," Tohma agreed. "There could be anybody here."

"It doesn't really even have to be people we know," Hiro noticed. "I mean, there could be people here from all over the world and we won't know about it."

"This is weird…" Shuichi said needlessly.

"Hey!" Cory stopped from her spot way ahead of them. "Are y'all ever gonna stop talkin' and git a move on? We're wastin' time."

"Sorry," Shuichi said, jogging to catch up to her. Tohma, Eiri, and Hiro quickened their pace to stay within sight range of the two.

"I agree with the brat," Eiri said finally. "This is really strange."

* * *

"Hey, um, miss psychic lady?"

"What is it, Ryuichi?" Astra asked.

"Is—is—?" Ryuichi could not find it within himself to ask the question, for he feared the answer. "Is—" he tried again, but he could not make the words come.

"Worry not," Astra said smiling. "Kumagoro is just fine." Ryuichi sighed in relief.

"He's safe? Did you give him a bath? He needed to take one tonight!"

"I'll be sure to give him one."

Mika rolled her eyes. It was certainly beginning to feel like a long day.

* * *

"We are going to get caught!" Sakano squeaked. "They're going to kill us. They'll rip us apart, limb from limb! They're going to—"

"Stop whining," K commanded. "We're almost out."

"Did we really have to wear these pants?"

"Yes," the woman hissed. Sakano and K were currently rolling out a cart full of dirty laundry and the woman had climbed in. They were going to use the excuse that they had come on the master's orders to pick up the dirty clothes. Sakano was having his doubts. However, she said that no one would believe them if they were not wearing spandex.

"Hold it," one of the guards stopped them at the exit. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Rolling out the laundry," K said.

"Who—?"

"The master sent us," he answered the question before it was asked. Sakano found it amazing that K was keeping such a calm exterior. He, on the other hand, felt like his fear was showing right through the fake smile he wore.

"Does this one talk?" one of the guards asked, eyeing Sakano with suspicion.

"Not much," K said. "Even so, it's never anything important." He would pay for that one… okay, maybe he wouldn't, but Sakano liked to think so.

"All right," the lead guard said finally. "Let 'em through." The gates opened and they were home free. Well, nearly. Sakano still had to make it away from eyesight of the guards before he fainted.

"That was really close," the woman said once they had managed the task. "Thanks, I owe you guys big time."

"No problem," K said. "You helped us get out too."

"If—if you don't mind my asking," Sakano said, getting up his courage. "What exactly goes on in that place?" K nodded, looking to the woman for answers.

"Well, it's basically like a slave community," she said sadly. "Though they only use women."

"What?" Sakano asked. "That's—that's…" He cut off, looking for the right word.

"Why?" K asked, looking as though he would start shooting if he had his gun.

"It's just the way things work around here," she said. "Nobody really knows about it, so no one's taken the liberty to save us. Only one other person outside the palace in Zecim knows what's going on. She's the only one who's ever escaped, but nobody's seen her since." Sakano felt sick. That was NOT how you treated people, no matter how much authority you had.

"That's sick," K said, looking as disgusted as Sakano felt.

"That's true," the woman admitted. "But it's been like this for generations."

"Hm…" K put a finger to his chin in thought. "Something must be done about it."

"Not without help," Sakano said. "We can't take those guards back there!" K looked like he really did not care, but he gave up anyway, possibly because he did not have his gun.

"He's right," the woman said. "We need to get to Zecim and get some help."

"Where's Zecim?" K asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I—I'm not sure," she said blushing. "I've never been out of Sapen before, so I really don't know where to go."

"Oh, great," K said. "Now we're out of the town, but we're in a desert wearing spandex." Sakano realized this and blushed; he really did not think the tight material would be comfortable for a long period of time.

"Speaking of that," the woman said. "I took the liberty to put your clothes in the basket." She pulled out their regular clothes and handed to them. K snatched his away, changing his shirt immediately. Sakano took it gratefully, thanking the woman.

"Would you mind turning around?" Sakano asked. The woman blushed and did so.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "But I've never seen another man besides the master."

"So you want to watch us change?" K asked, slightly suspicious.

"No, no," the woman told them, shaking her head. "I just… never mind…"

"Okay, you can turn around now," K told her.

"No wait!" Sakano screeched. He had not finished getting his pants on and having the woman turn around would not put him in a comfortable position. He quickly pulled up is pants and zipped them up. "Okay." The woman turned around and smiled.

"I must admit," she said, eyeing the two of them. "I think you two are much cuter than the master." Sakano blushed; he had never been called cute before, by any gender.

"Well, if we're going to find this Zecim before we die of hunger and thirst we'd better start now," K said. "And where's my gun?"

"They confiscated that," the woman said apologetically. "I'm sorry. Did that cost a lot of money?"

"No, but I don't have anymore with me," K growled, looking irritated. The woman looked remorseful.

"Let's go," she said. "You were right. We don't have any food or water." They began heading off in any direction that was away from the town they had just come from. Sakano was having his doubts and was wondering why there were no electronics in the town they had just left.

* * *

"Why are we wearing these again?" Tatsuha asked, eyeing his new clothes.

"To blend in," Ken told them with a smile.

"I feel funny," Suguru complained. "Does it really have to be clothes like this?"

"That's all we've got," Ken told them. "At least you don't have to dress like the folk from the country." Suguru realized that could possibly be worse and shut his mouth. He and Tatsuha were both wearing some form of uncomfortable pants that looked like they were hand woven rather than made in a factory. The shirts were the same way, though the gloves and the boots were leather.

"Are there any leather pants?" Tatsuha asked.

"You don't need leather pants," Suguru snapped. "Why you want to show off yourself is beyond me anyway."

"I do not want to 'show off myself'," Tatsuha snapped back. "It's just that those would probably be more comfortable."

"Those are usually left for the prostitutes," Ken told them.

"In that case these pants are just fine," Suguru said, covering Tatsuha's mouth. The other teen struggled to get away but Suguru glared at him. Tatsuha sighed and gave up.

"Oh, and I hope you boys don't mind waiting a couple days," Ken said. "I've been called back to duty so I need to fill the post for two or three days."

"Two or three days!" Tatsuha snapped breaking free of Suguru's grip. "What are we going to do for two or three days?"

"Look around," Ken said. "I mean in the safe parts of town. Here, I'll give you two a weapon to defend yourself. I'll also give you a map to where all the rich folk hang around. You'll be safe there."

"O—okay," Suguru felt as though this were not a good idea, but agreed anyway. Ken went into the back of his house and came out carrying two daggers.

"What's this?" Tatsuha asked. "What about guns? Those would make us safer."

"Whatsits?" Ken asked, looking confused. "You boys sure are strange." Both Tatsuha and Suguru stared at the man. Suguru pulled his cousin-in-law away from the knight for a moment.

"I think we have a problem," he said.

"Yeah, this guy doesn't know what a gun is," Tatsuha said. "This is weird."

"I agree," Suguru said. "Where _are_ we?"

"I don't know," Tatsuha said. "It's not good though. Where's Mika?"

"I don't know," Suguru snapped, irritated.

"What about Sakuma-sama?"

"I. DON'T. KNOW!" Suguru nearly yelled at the other teen. It was getting rather irritating. "I've told you all this already."

"Fine," Tatsuha said shrugging. Suguru turned to walk back to Ken when Tatsuha hugged him from behind.

"What the hell are you doing?" Suguru snapped. He tilted his head back to see a wicked grin on the other teen's face. He felt something brush up against him. That definitely was not the knife that Ken had given him! Their new clothes were hiding nothing either.

"If Sakuma-sama isn't here," Tatsuha said wickedly. "I'll just have to make do with you." Damn, the little brat was horny, a fact that did not surprise Suguru.

"Get off me," Suguru demanded, only making Tatsuha grind his hips into his cousin-in-law. "I said get off me!"

"You're so uptight," Tatsuha said. "Are you still a virgin?"

"What the hell?" Suguru asked. "It's none of your business! Get off me!" Tatsuha rolled his eyes and released the other teen.

"You're no fun," he complained. "Come on. It's just the two of us right now. Haven't you ever thought about experimenting?"

"Not with you!"

"Oh, so you have," Tatsuha taunted. "So, who are you into nowadays, Suguru?"

"That's—That's none of your business!" Suguru felt himself turn red.

"Oh, come one," Tatsuha said again. "I promise I won't tell. Will you at least tell me if I'm right?" Suguru did not have time to answer as Tatsuha had already started guessing. Suguru sighed and hung his head, leading the other teen back to where Ken was standing.

* * *

Finally Noriko and Rachel left the store. They were finally able to find Noriko some traveling clothes. She had gotten a pair of black leggings and a loose, long sleeved shirt. She had also purchased boots and gloves because Rachel said that she would need them. They then decided to head back to the house to tell Nash what had happened.

"Hey, where's the other girl?" he asked when they entered the door.

"The prince wished her presence," Rachel said almost bitterly.

"Dammit," Nash cursed. "That can't be good."

"Why not?" Noriko asked. "What's he going to do to her? Damn, if something happens to her nobody's going to forgive me! Especially that Hiro guy. Well, maybe Eiri-san will…"

"What are you talking about?" Nash asked her in mid ramble.

"Hm?" she stopped to stare at him. "Oh, sorry. She is the girlfriend of one of my friend's friend and my other friend is friends with her, sort of."

"There's more of you?" Rachel asked, looking slightly confused at Noriko's incoherent ramble.

"From what I know it's just me and her," Noriko said. "I don't know what happened to Tohma and Ryuichi."

"Who are they?"

"My best friends," she answered. "They were with me before I showed up here."

"I really hope Astra can answer our questions," Nash said.

"More like I hope she will," Rachel corrected him. "She's got that 'mysterious, I-think-I'll-keep-you-guessing' thing going on."

"You're right," Nash said. "Damn, this is really going to be difficult." Noriko, who did not know Astra, agreed anyway.

* * *

"So he told you we're in where?" Ken asked, trying his hardest not to tick off their leader.

"Ainuba," Tachi repeated for the fifth time. "I'm not crazy. If anyone is, it's that guy."

"Right," Ken said, nodding skeptically.

"You don't believe me," Tachi accused. Ma and Ken exchanged glances, then deciding that Tachi could not do anything tied to a chair.

"Not really," Ma said boldly. "This is really weird."

"I KNOW!" Tachi yelled. "Don't you think it was for me when I was hearing all this crap?"

"You seem pretty calm about it," Ken pointed out.

"Like hell I'm calm!" Tachi snapped. "This is not funny!"

"We didn't say it was," Ken said.

"Maybe he's in shock," Ma suggested.

"Or maybe passive disbelief," Ken added. The two of them agreed on the two things by nodding their heads.

"…I'm still here, you know," Tachi pointed out.

* * *

"Hey look!" Shuichi pointed. "A river!"

"How fascinating," Eiri commented dryly.

"Really Shuichi," Hiro said. "Try keeping your excitement down. It's not really that spectacular."

"But it's pretty," Shuichi protested.

"Oh, joy," Eiri snapped, still feeling cranky.

"It looks like the river we passed on our way to Flemmingale," Tohma pointed out. "Really, Shindou-san, it's not a very interesting sight." Shuichi hung his head, Tohma always managed to spoil his fun.

"You boys wanna rest?" Cory called from ahead. Shuichi agreed, taking the time to hang off of Eiri, annoying all three of the other men.

"I dunno where y'all really came from," she said. "But yer the most interestin' thing this here country's seen in a while."

"What makes you say that?" Hiro asked.

"Well, if there's ever anythin' excitin' us country folk never hear 'bout it until later," she said. "It's really strange, even for some o' the more excitin' countries for people like y'all to jus' appear, you know?"

"I suppose it would be," Tohma agreed. Cory smiled and moved her canteen around.

"We're runnin' out o' water," she commented. "It's probably good that we're makin' such great time or we'd be farther from the river." Hiro rested his head on his knees, deep in thought.

"Something on your mind, Hiroshi?" Tohma asked.

"Hm? Oh, I was just…" he cut off, glancing at Eiri, who would probably not want to hear of Ayaka.

"Oh, I see," Tohma said, noticing his discomfort. "Don't worry." Hiro glanced up; it was not like the president to be very comforting. "I'm sure she's fine." Tohma smiled kindly at him, making Hiro wonder if all this country air had made him go crazy.

* * *

"Oh, good," Astra commented. Mika was asleep and Ryuichi was trying to find the closest thing he could to Kumagoro, which turned out to be a pillow and was chewing on it. "Your friends are going to venture here."

"Hm?" Ryuichi looked up at her with wide eyes. "Kuma-chan?"

"Do you really want your rabbit?" she asked. Ryuichi nodded. Astra smiled and closed her eyes, saying some strange song. Ryuichi cocked his head for a second before Kumagoro appeared in his lap. He squealed and tossed the pillow aside, hugging Kumagoro, telling it how much he missed it.

"That's cool," Ryuichi said, blinking innocently. "That was a weird song though." Astra laughed a little and left the room. Ryuichi shrugged and decided to amuse himself by singing Bad Luck's song 'Spicy Marmalade'.

* * *

"This desert goes on forever!" Sakano shrieked. "We're never going to get out of here alive!"

"Relax," K said. "We've only been walking for five minutes." Sakano blushed and became silent.

"I just thought of something," the woman said, stopping. "I don't know your names."

"Oh, forgive us," Sakano pleaded. "I'm Sakano. This is K."

"…Really?" she asked. "You're names are pretty funny."

"Well, what's your name?" Sakano asked.

"I'm Lavinia," she answered. Sakano could not help but wonder if it was American. K did not seem to think it for he cocked an eyebrow.

"Let's keep going," K suggested. "The sooner we get out of this desert, the sooner he'll stop whining." Sakano glared at the manager. "Never mind, he'll probably whine when we get to the city too."

"Sh—shut up," Sakano said boldly. K shook his head and continued walking forward.

* * *

Ken had left Suguru alone with Tatsuha, allowing them to explore the town. Suguru, however, felt that this was not a good idea. He kept glancing back at the other teen while they were walking, just to make sure he was not sneaking up on him.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Tatsuha inquired eventually.

"What?"

"Staring at me," he clarified. "You keep glancing back like I'm going to do something to you."

"That's exactly why," Suguru said honestly. "I don't trust you _not_ to do anything." Tatsuha laughed at him, making Suguru feel slightly angry.

"What do you think I'll do?" Tatsuha asked. "Rape you? No way. That's not my style. I don't need to rape anybody to get some."

"I really don't wish to take part in this conversation," Suguru said, blushing as he looked away.

"Now, really," Tatsuha said. "Come on, when was the last time you had sex?" Suguru blushed even harder, making him look like a tomato. He looked around and noticed that they were completely alone. Tatsuha had led him to a dark corner of an alleyway.

"I—I told you that's none of your business," Suguru reminded him. Tatsuha shrugged and pushed himself against the other teen, who was already leaning against the wall. Suguru suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

"Fine," Tatsuha said huskily. He pressed himself against the other teen further, their hips grinding together. Suguru began to squirm, trying to break free of Tatsuha's dominating hold on him.

"Get—get off me," Suguru said, feeling himself blush even harder, if it were possible.

"That's not what your body's telling me," Tatsuha said, looking down and smiling at his cousin-in-law. Suguru sputtered, not really knowing what to do in this situation.

"St—stop," he commanded.

"What? You like being dominant in a relationship?" Tatsuha asked. "Or is this your first time?"

"This isn't funny," Suguru told him, glaring at the other teen.

"I didn't say it was," Tatsuha told him. He then lowered his lips to Suguru's neck and began nibbling at it. Suguru gasped, not knowing what to do.

"Tat—" He heard the other teen moan in response. Suguru felt his breathing quicken as the boy in front of him devoured his collarbone.

Tatsuha began licking his neck. Now it was Suguru's turn to moan. He could feel those lips spread into a smile as Tatsuha's hands were quickly undoing the buttons on his pants. Suguru desperately wanted to stop him, to shove him away, but his body was not responding to what his head was telling it to do. Every time he planned to do something he told himself 'just a little bit more'.

They were panting now, both of them. Tatsuha moved his head up and captured Suguru's lips in a kiss, shoving his back painfully into the wall. Tatsuha licked his lips, requesting entrance. Suguru was very surprised when he granted that request, returning the kiss with equal fever. Suguru wrapped his arms around the other boy, urging him forward. Tatsuha's hands were everywhere… it felt so good…

"Oh, God," Suguru moaned as Tatsuha went back to his neck. He had never realized how talented Tatsuha was. Tatsuha lowered himself to his knees in front of Suguru and began pulling down his pants.

"What are you boys doing?" came a voice. Tatsuha stood up quickly, hiding Suguru from whoever interrupted them. It was another knight, a taller one than Ken, but he was standing in the entrance of the alleyway, staring at them.

"Not much," Tatsuha said, feigning innocence. "Just what teenage boys do."

"Well, get out of that alleyway," he commanded. "It's not safe in there, you know." He turned and left, his armor clinking. Suguru was still panting and felt himself sweating. Tatsuha's face was also streaked with sweat.

"Well," Tatsuha said. "Wasn't that fun?" Suguru regained his composure and glared at the other boy.

"That wasn't funny…" Tatsuha smiled again.

"I didn't say it was…" Before Suguru could say anything Tatsuha was on his knees again. He was pretty sure he knew what his cousin-in-law was going to do, but he still gasped when he did it.

* * *

Noriko was not very happy at the moment. Nash and Rachel were both trying to cheer her up, but all to no avail.

"Look, we'll get her back," Rachel promised.

"What's with that prince guy?" Noriko snapped. "He has no right to do that!"

"Actually he does," Rachel told her. "It comes with being ruler of the country."

"Jerk," Noriko spat. She was not particularly upset at the fact that she lost Ayaka, but more upset at how she was going to have to explain to everyone that she had been kidnapped right in front of her eyes.

"Look, I think I know where he's taking her," Rachel said. "All we have to do is find a way in and out of there."

"Where's that?" Noriko asked, lifting her head that she had rested on her knees.

"Sapen," Rachel told her. Noriko cocked an eyebrow.

"Not following," she informed the other girl.

"Oh, that's right," Rachel said. "Sapen is basically a slave community. The prince finds unsuspecting women and takes them to serve him." Noriko, if she had such an ability, would have spit fire at that precise moment.

"What the hell?" she demanded. "That's it! That prince is so going down!"

"No, wait," Rachel stood up to stop the other woman. "We can't just go barging in there. We'll be killed. We don't even know if he's taking her there."

"That's sick," Noriko said, not paying attention to Rachel anymore.

"I agree," she said.

"Why doesn't anybody do anything about it?" Noriko snapped.

"Because nobody really knows about it," she answered.

"How did you know about it?" Noriko was now curious.

"I was put in there for about a year when I was fifteen," she said, suddenly looking bitter. "Nash followed the guards who took me and was able to sneak me out eventually."

"It took him a year?" Noriko asked, now feeling very panic stricken.

"Yeah," she said. "But now that we know how to do it, it's much easier. There's just the problem of getting in." Noriko sighed. "Just be patient. We'll save her." Noriko shook her head, feeling rather skeptical.

* * *

The man finally came back into the room and looked around, noticing all three of his captives were awake. However, two of them had moved their chairs across the room away from the first one who woke up.

"Where are we?" Ma asked.

"Our hideout," the man answered vaguely.

"Yes, we gathered that," Ken said. "But what country?"

"Ainuba." The two of them looked over at Tachi who glared at them.

"See?" he asked. "I'm not crazy!" The two now looked as though they thought that they were going insane.

"I'm not sure I heard you correctly," Ken said. "Where again?"

"Ainuba," the man repeated, growing increasingly irritated. "Listen. I'm having Irene take you back to Zecim and you won't breath a word of our hideout, do you understand?"

"Take us back?" Tachi asked.

"Would you rather stay here?" All three men shook their heads quickly. "Good. If you say anything, we will know."

"Who's Irene?" Ma asked, looking half confused and half interested.

"I am." The girl who had knocked them out earlier was leaning against a wall, looking upset. "I still don't see why I have to take them to Zecim. Can't you have someone else do it?"

"No, you will," the man said. "Now go." He pointed and Irene motioned for the three to follow her.

"Um… excuse me…" Ma said boldly.

"What do you want?" she asked turning around. Then she noticed that they were still tied to the chairs and the other man was nowhere to be found. "Whoops. Sorry." She then untied them and they started on their way.

END CHAPTER 4

A/N: I really do not know what came over me with writing a Tatsuha/Suguru scene, but I felt that it had to be done. I am just going to let your minds imagine what they are doing because I am not a lemon writer. That is probably the closest I will ever get to writing a lemon, though maybe not. I have been very mean to ASK, mostly because I think that Tachi needs more abuse than he gets from his bandmates already. Anywho… review please!

Love always,

Lily


	6. I'm Never Travelling With You Again

At the Edge of Reality

By: Lily (Lena) Evans

'_I wake in the dark and remember_

_it is the morning when I must start_

_by myself on the journey' W.S. Merwin_

Summary: The Gravi cast is (somehow) transported to a world where kings rule the land and knights and sorcerers roam. When an evil threatens to destroy the world they must all step up and help protect it and (hopefully) find a way home. Violence. Lime. Various couples. Broken hearts. OOC-ness. Yaoi (I bet you weren't expecting that). Just when you thought Eiri couldn't get any more sexy… he gets a sword! Why, you ask? Because it's MY fic and I said so!

Genre: Fantasy/Action/Adventure

A/N: In this chapter Eiri, Tohma, and Hiro are all slowly going insane with Shuichi acting like he just ate 50 sticks of strawberry pocky. Ryuichi and Mika are still with Astra and she explains more to them. K, Sakano, and Lavinia finally figure out where they are going. After all that, Tatsuha is still horny. Noriko, Rachel, and Nash plot a way to save Ayaka. ASK, well, they have got the girl, Irene, to deal with. On with the fic! Read and Review!

Chapter 5: I'm Never Traveling With You Again

"Are we almost there?" Shuichi whined.

"We just told you no," Hiro reminded him. "You're not even walking." Shuichi had finally convinced Eiri to give him a piggyback ride, making the author even more cranky than usual.

"We would be closer if you hadn't decided to play in the river," Tohma told him.

"It was hot," Shuichi complained.

"Yes," Tohma admitted. "But now it's getting dark and cold and you're still wet." Shuichi looked slightly ashamed.

"But it _was_ fun," Shuichi said smiling. Tohma did not smile back. The singer had splashed water over the rest of them. Luckily, Eiri had gone in and dragged him out, forcing him to walk with them.

"That's it," Eiri snapped. "When are we going to get there?"

"Almost there," Cory said. "We've jus' gotta travel a little south from here an' we're there."

"Good," Eiri and Tohma both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Why are the towns so far apart?" Hiro asked curiously.

"There's jus' no more need for anymore," Cory answered. "Most o' the people gather in Zecim and Trenk anyway."

"Are there any towns north of those mountains?" he asked, pointing behind them.

"Yeah," she answered. "I've never been there though." Hiro nodded and said no more. Luckily, it was not very long before they ended up in the next little town. Cory had called it Rone and it had a watermill that was turning water from the river they had just crossed.

"Let's get checked in," Tohma suggested.

"I'm hungry," Shuichi whined. "Yuki, let's go out for dinner."

"We don't have any money, baka," Eiri snapped. Shuichi looked like he was going to cry.

"Here," Cory said, handing them some coins. "You two can go out fer a romantic dinner while the three of us eat here." She winked at Shuichi, who smiled brightly. Eiri groaned as he was dragged out by the genki singer.

"I have a feeling she did that just to get rid of Shuichi," Hiro noted. Tohma smiled, knowing he would do the exact same thing.

--------------------------------------------------------

Mika awoke to the sound of Ryuichi singing 'Sleepless Beauty'. She sat up and saw Kumagoro sitting on the bed next to him. Where did that come from? He had his back to her and his voice was quiet so Mika had to strain to hear him.

He really did have a wonderful voice. She could not see his face, but she knew his eyes were closed in concentration. She assumed it came from seeing him in so many concerts.

"What was that Kuma-chan?" he asked the stuffed bunny, pulling it onto his lap. He still had not turned around to see Mika. She wondered what he could be talking to the bunny about. "I can't do that na no da."

Mika really did not want to intrude on his private conversation, but she could not help but listen to him.

"No, that's mean, Kuma-chan. Oh… okay."

Mika frowned slightly as he tossed Kumagoro in the air, giggling as he caught him again.

"Oh, hi, Mika-san! Kuma-chan said you're awake!" Mika started at his words. How had he known that? He didn't even look at her.

"Yes, I am… good morning, Ryuichi." The singer finally turned around and gave her a smile.

"Did you sleep well, Mika-san?" he asked with a kind smile.

"I did, thank you," she couldn't help but smile back. "And yourself."

"Kuma-chan and I both slept really well, isn't that right, Kuma-chan?" Mika laughed softly and nodded her head.

"I believe you." The singer smiled a bit more and lunged at her. She let out a slight shriek of surprise before finally going limp in the singer's embrace.

---------------------------------------------------

"Hey, look," Lavinia commanded. "We _are_ going the right way!"

"What makes you say that?" K asked moodily.

"I see mountains," she said pointing.

"How does that tell us we're going the right way?" Sakano asked, finally catching up to the two of them.

"Because," she said. "Zecim is placed on a high mountain. If we went south we would have run into the ocean. This is Zecim!"

"We have to climb a mountain?" Sakano groaned. K growled and began walking forward. Well… at least they were not wearing the leather anymore.

"Hey, wait!" Lavinia called. "It's getting really dark. Why don't we rest here for the night?"

"No way," K said. "We are resting in the town. Come on." With that he walked off, leaving Sakano and Lavinia to follow him.

--------------------------------

Suguru was sitting in the alleyway, feeling rather… well, odd was the only way to describe it. Tatsuha looked over at him and smirked.

"You know," he said. "You're pretty good for a virgin." Suguru glared at him and then dropped his head again. He felt dirty, that was the right word for it. Tatsuha, still not feeling satisfied, kneeled in front of the other teen and stroked his face gently. Suguru tilted his face up to look at his cousin-in-law.

"What are you doing?" Suguru asked, though the answer was obvious. Tatsuha pushed Suguru's legs open and sat in between them.

"What does it look like?" Tatsuha asked. Suguru wriggled away from the boy and began walking away. "Where the hell are you going?"

"Where does it look like?" Suguru asked, leaving the alleyway. Tatsuha cursed under his breath and followed. As soon as they got out they came face to face with Ken.

"What were you two doing in there?" he asked.

"Nothing!" Suguru snapped, turning red again. Ken raised an eyebrow and then smirked.

"Ah, I see," he said, eyeing the two of them. "Were you two making out in there?"

"Something like that," Tatsuha said innocently. Suguru buried his head in his hands, desperately wanting to disappear.

"Don't worry about it," Ken assured Suguru. "One of the knights saw you two in there, but he assumed you were gambling or looking at porno or something like that."

"Oh great," Suguru said sarcastically.

"Oh, you'll probably never see him again," Tatsuha told him. "When are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow night," Ken told him. "That's when I'll be able to sneak out. In the mean time, you two can stay in the guest bedroom of my house." He winked and walked off, leaving the two boys alone once again. Suguru groaned.

"You know…" Tatsuha said, raising his eyebrows.

"I really don't want to travel with you ever again," Suguru snapped.

"Oh, so you're the type who will knock someone up and then never speak to them again, is that it?" Tatsuha asked teasingly.

"Shut up," Suguru snapped. "I—"

"You liked it, admit it," Tatsuha was very close to him, but Suguru did not care, which surprised him. "I can't help it if I had that effect on you."

"You raped me," Suguru snapped.

"I did not," Tatsuha said. "Rape is non-consensual. You let me fuck you."

"Sh—shut up!" Suguru was beginning to remember why he never liked the boy in the first place.

"Listen, you're a good fuck," Tatsuha told him.

"Is that supposed to cheer me up?" Suguru asked, glaring at him.

"Let me finish," the monk told him. "I need a good lay more often. It just so happens that I'm attracted to you too." Suguru crossed his arms, refusing to talk to the boy. "Really, you are pretty cute."

"What—what about Sakuma-san?" Suguru asked, trying desperately to hide the blush creeping up into his cheeks. Tatsuha waved his hand.

"That's just a celebrity crush," he said. "Besides, he's not interested in me."

"Wh—?" Tatsuha laughed at the other boy's confusion.

"Does it really matter?" he asked huskily, trailing his hand down Suguru's side. "I like you. Isn't that what matters?" Suguru felt skeptical, but nodded reluctantly.

-------------------------------------

Noriko was feeling cranky, not only had she lost Ayaka, Nash said it would take a long time to get going to find this Astra person as well. Plus, saving Ayaka would not be an easy task, Rachel had pointed out.

On the plus side, however, Nash was trying to teach her how to work a crossbow. She felt like she was getting the hang of it, but it was not as easy as playing the keyboard. She was having sudden urges to destroy things, but seeing as she was not in NG Studios or Tohma's house she held back, not wanting to replace any of the things they had there.

Rachel, in the meantime, was trying to teach her a lot of things that Noriko did not particularly care for. Such as the history of the country, what they do there, what goes on outside the city, etc. She knew there was something in there about it being the highest producer in seafood and having to use weapons like swords to defend themselves, but Noriko's thoughts were stuck on her friends.

She wondered if she would ever see her husband, Tohma and Ryuichi again. K and Sakano even crossed her mind once or twice. This situation was really strange to her and confused her. Anybody who knew her could verify that Noriko Ukai did _not_ like being confused.

-------------------------------------

The first thing Tohma and Hiro noticed about Rone was that it seemed slightly more modern than Daini or Flemmingale. There were stone buildings, rather than wooden. There were something that looked like streetlamps, but the hopes of electricity were dashed when they saw somebody light them with a torch. Cory had left the two of them to wander around the town so she could get them checked in. Neither wanted to bother to look for Shuichi or Eiri.

"You know, Hiroshi," Tohma said. "I'm worried." Hiro glanced at the president, knowing that he was never one to show his emotions.

"Sir?" he asked uneasily.

"You needn't be so formal, Hiroshi," he said casually. "I suppose since we are stuck together for who knows how long we might as well be on friendly terms for the time being." Hiro raised his eyebrows.

"Sure," he said. "Why are you so worried?"

"How big exactly is this country?" Hiro shrugged at the question. "Anybody could have been brought here. They don't necessarily have to be in this country, they could be somewhere else in this strange land."

"That's true," Hiro said, feeling his heart sink.

"Also, it is possible that somebody else has not had the same fortunes as we have," Tohma continued. "They could have been hurt, or possibly worse." Hiro nodded, his thoughts moving from person to person. First Ayaka, then it happened to be Suguru. What would he be doing if he were brought into a strange world? Then Sakano… That would not be a very happy sight. "Hiroshi?"

"Yeah?" he asked, snapping out of his daze.

"Is there something on your mind?" the president did not look like he did in the office. His facial features were relaxed, making him seem more friendly and open to opinion. Hiro wondered how a person could change so drastically and if it were pleasant to do so.

"Sort of," he answered. "I suppose it's the same thing as what you were talking about. I—I'm worried about them."

"Who?" Tohma asked his expression neutral.

"Ayaka," he started. "Suguru, Sakano, and K too. I'm worried about how they would react if they were brought here."

"That thought has also crossed my mind," Tohma agreed. "Though, I am more worried about…" Hiro had the sudden urge to take a guess, but thought better of it. His boss had suggested that they be on friendly terms, but he figured the man would still be closed about his feelings.

The two of them became silent, a tension passing between them. They really did not have much to talk about. It was Tohma who brought up the next subject.

"I have a question for you, Hiroshi," the keyboardist stated. "What do you think of Suguru?" This question took Hiro by surprise and he stumbled a little bit.

"Huh?" he felt very stupid, bumbling in front of his boss in such a manner.

"What do you think of my cousin?" he asked. "I've been wondering. And please, be honest." Hiro, for some reason, felt a blush creeping into his cheeks. He wondered what could have made Tohma ask such a question.

"He's a wonderful musician—" Hiro started, but Tohma shook his head, stopping the guitarist.

"I mean outside of the music business," the president clarified. "I already know what kind of musician he is." Hiro had never heard the man speak of anything but business before.

"I—I guess he's a good person too," he said. "He's nice to talk to." Hiro had suddenly forgot Tohma was there and began talking more to himself than the other musician. "He's a little uptight at times, but it's kind of cute." He stopped himself after that and glanced at the other man, who was smiling brightly.

"Is that so?" he asked. He then walked away and said no more. Hiro could not help but wonder if that smile was genuine or just masking a murderous plot. The guitarist was sincerely hoping for the former.

-------------------------------------

"Can we stop now? Please?" Sakano panted, trying to keep up with the American.

"How far up is this stupid city?" K asked, ignoring the producer.

"Pretty far," Lavinia said as though she had already told him. K groaned and continued climbing. "We really should stop." K groaned again but obliged.

"How exactly are we going to sleep?" Sakano asked. "It won't be very comfortable."

"I know," Lavinia said. "I brought along those clothes for a reason. We can sleep on a pile of those."

"Oh," Sakano said. "That's a good idea."

"Okay, great," K said irritated. "Let's get set up so we can head out earlier tomorrow." Sakano did not have the nerve to disagree.

Soon enough Lavinia was asleep. Sakano, however, could not sleep. He had tossed and turned for nearly an hour before giving up and sitting up. He saw K sitting at the ledge, looking down at the desert they traveled across.

"K-san?" Sakano asked hesitantly. The manager did not turn around but Sakano saw him start at the sudden question. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," K said. "I'm fine. Go back to sleep."

"I can't sleep," Sakano said lamely.

"Do you want me to read you a story?" K asked mockingly. Sakano looked down, blushing. It was a simple statement. "Or would you like a kiss goodnight?" Sakano nearly fell over at this sudden statement.

"Wh—what?" K laughed at Sakano's discomfort. Clearly he was joking.

"You do realize how gullible you are, right?" K asked, still chuckling. Sakano would have glared but the American turned to face him. Sakano ended up sputtering instead.

"You—You shouldn't tease people like that!" he snapped. K raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, so you _want_ a kiss goodnight?"

"N—no!" he snapped, going red. "It just…wasn't funny." He was lucky it was dark. K seemed to notice his discomfort and laughed.

"Go to sleep, Sakano-san," he commanded. "We're starting early tomorrow."

"I just said that I—" However, the manager glared at him and Sakano figured it would be best to try to sleep once more.

(Change Scene)

Suguru lay on the bed, feeling exhausted. Making out with his cousin-in-law was not how he wanted to spend his free time. He looked over at the boy on the other bed, who was fast asleep. Suguru suddenly felt a pang of regret.

He knew he was not in love with the other teenager, so why did he agree to sleep with him? Maybe it was the other teen's ability to seduce everything and everyone around him. However, Suguru felt that Tohma would not have had this problem. He sighed in resentment. Tohma was always the best at everything.

Suguru always tried to outdo his cousin, but was outdone in the process. The more he thought about it, the more resentful he felt. He hung his head in shame, trying to think of what Tohma would have done in this situation.

'He would have pushed Tatsuha away,' he thought bitterly. 'He wouldn't have caved into the pressure.' Suguru pushed it to the back of his mind, trying to think of something else.

He then thought of Hiro and what he would have done. Hiro would not have done anything like that either… Suguru drifted off to sleep, still thinking bitterly about the other boy.

--------------------------------

"Are you still awake?" Nash had walked into the room and noticed Noriko sitting at the window sill.

"Well, you're not exactly asleep yourself," Noriko snapped. "What are you doing up?"

"I was talking to someone who might know where your friend might be," he told her. "It seems that she'll be okay and they're not sending her to Sapen."

"Then why did they take her?" Noriko asked, turning to look at him. Nash looked uneasy.

"It seems that the prince was quite taken with her," he answered. "This may be a problem with saving her, but at least she's not being sold into slavery."

"I guess so," Noriko said. "So what does that mean? That he's taken with her? How difficult _will_ it be to save her?" Nash shifted his weight, still looking edgy.

"It means that he wants her to marry him…" Noriko stared at him.

"Ayaka?" she asked. "What does he do to people who displease him?"

"He…um…" Nash walked over to where she was sitting and sat down next to her. "No one really knows, but they're never seen again."

"Shit," Noriko cursed. Nash frowned slightly.

"Why do you think that will be a problem?" he asked.

"Does he like annoying little girls? She tends to cling." Noriko asked.

"Maybe," Nash answered.

"Then she might be okay," Noriko said. Nash chuckled a little.

"Get some sleep," he said. "You're going to need it." He got up and left the room, shutting the door behind him with a snap. Noriko sighed. None of the things they were attempting to do would be an easy task.

---------------------------------------

Tachi sighed again, looking up at the stars. They had only walked a short way before Irene ordered them to set up camp for the night. Tachi figured it would have been easier to stay at the hideout and leave in the morning, but Irene's glare shut him up. That woman was little, but she hurt. His band mates were also asleep.

'What the hell is this place?' he wondered before drifting off to sleep.

END CHAPTER FIVE

A/N: This was more of a relationship chapter more than anything. I wanted to basically make a foundation for most of the couples I am going to end up using. I made Tatsuha seem like a desperate, horny bastard in this (don't get me wrong, he's one of my favorite characters). I now have a set plan of what I am going to do with this story. Yay! Go me! Review please!

Love always,

Lily


End file.
